Harry Potter and the Ravenclaw Rebels
by Silent Magi
Summary: Book 1: It's the first year for young Harry, and things just don't seem to be shaping up for him at all. But there is hope, as his first friend arrives like a shining beacon of hope in a sea of turmoil... Sadly that light only leads to chaos.
1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

You know I don't own this, so don't bother saying I do. First Harry Potter story, just giving fair warning. I hope someone out there will enjoy it, I know I did.

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Harry Potter looked around at the milling crowds nervously, he'd been here since nearly 5 because his uncle had to go into work early, and stated that he wouldn't be back to pick him up until next summer. Now he just had to find the right platform. He could find Platform 9 easily enough, and 10 was right next to it, but he couldn't for the life of him find a Platform 9 ¾.

Sitting down on his trolley he looked up at the clock on one of the support pillars and groaned. It was only about 7, but he was beginning to feel a load of dread at being unable to find the right Platform to board the train to Hogwarts.

"Hurry Mom... we have to get to Platform 9 ¾..." a young girl's voice cut through the din, causing Harry's head to snap up and hunt around for its source. A girl his age was striding through the crowd purposefully heading towards where he was sitting.

"Steady on there Hermione... you have another three hours before the train leaves... Now do you have the instructions on how to get there?" a woman, Harry guessed was her mother asked while the man, her father, pushed her trunk on it's trolley.

"It's right here," Hermione answered back holding up a folded piece of paper. "We just have to find the right pillar and... oh hello there..."

Harry didn't realize right off that she had been addressing him, until her eyes locked with his, and a wide smile spread across her face. He could feel a nervous smile spreading on his own face for a heartbeat before he looked down and away. "Hello... uhh... are you going to Hogwarts?"

"Oh, yes I am... I guess it's easy to tell huh?" Hermione answered back while rubbing her arm nervously and fidgeting slightly, until she caught sight of Hedwig. "Oh what a beautiful snow owl, what's her name?"

"Hedwig..." Harry answered while stroking a finger down the owl's wing, rousing the sleepy owl to hoot softly at him and lightly nudge his finger affectionately.

"Are you waiting for someone young man?" her father answered softly, causing Harry to jump and shy away from him.

"N... No sir... I... I wasn't told how to get to the Platform... and my Uncle dropped me off on his way to work..." Harry answered quietly while not meeting the man's eyes, his whole body screamed that he was uncomfortable under their gaze. "If... If you don't mind... I'd like to follow you..."

"Oh of course we don't mind!" Hermione gushed while looking around at the milling people, after a moment she pointed at the pillar with the big clock Harry had looked at earlier. "That's the one... we just walk in under that clock and the train will be on the other side..."

Harry looked at the solid wall skeptically for a moment before Hermione seemed to read his mind in what he was thinking. "It doesn't look like it should work... maybe it's like a curtain over the doorway..."

"Then we should just be able to push through..." her mother added as an afterthought while her father lined up to make his push to the pillar. Once the path had thinned enough he took off at a fast walk, and vanished into the pillar with barely a whisper. "You two next... side by side now..."

Harry pushed himself up and with Hermione at his side, began pushing his trolley towards the pillar, while her mother played look out. Just before the trolley hit the wall, he turned his head towards a loud red-headed woman acting like a mother hen towards a squad of similarly carrot topped kids, two of which were looking right at him with devious smiles. "Now then, we'll wait here for him to show up, and then guide him to the Platform. Not like we could trust his muggle care takers would show him how..."

"We'll go ahead mum!" the two called back, aiming right for him with identical carts of their own, decked out in blue and silver trim. It was just before they vanished from view that he realized they were twins. And suddenly he was through with Hermione, gasping and gaping at the scene before them. A gleaming red steam engine sat directly in front of him. He could catch the words Hogwarts Express on the engine, and knew he'd found his ride to the world of magic.

After a couple minutes of picking their way through the crowd, they were finally able to load their trunks onto the train and claim a cabin. Neither one asked the other if they'd mind, but it just felt like they should sit together, after coming this far. While Hermione hugged her parents goodbye, Harry sat in the cabin and fretted over his damaged glasses, wondering if there might be a way to fix them at the school.

Just as he was about to put them back on, a wand appeared out of nowhere and he heard Hermione's voice "_Repairo..._"

As he watched in awe, his glasses were repaired perfectly. Slipping them on his face, he smiled shyly at he girl that he'd taken a liking to. "Thank you... I'm Harry by the way..."

"You're welcome Harry..." Hermione answered with a wide smile on her face. "My name is Hermione Granger. This may sound rude... but I was told about a Harry that would be in our year... and I was wondering are you Harry Potter?"

"Err... yes..." Harry answered nervously as he looked down.

"Oh, thank you for telling me Harry," Hermione replied before sitting across from him and pulling out a large book from her trunk. Harry caught a glimpse of '_Hogwarts: A History_' before she settled in for reading.

"Well lookie here Forge..." one of the red-headed twins from earlier called out as he peeked into their cabin. "We have two lovely little first years... We should sit with them and tell them all about the magical world they're about to enter..."

"Good idea Gred... and it looks like they're at least partially muggle-born too!" 'Forge' answered when he peeked in. "I say, have you two seen a kid named Harry Potter around? We want to warn him about a prank we're pulling..."

Hermione looked at Harry questioningly, which he returned with equal uncertainty before waving shyly. "I'm Harry..."

"So you are!" 'Gred' gushed before pulling up a pair of trunks. "Mind budging over so we can join you?"

After Hermione shifted over to sit next to Harry, the twins settled in across from them easily enough, Gred sitting on Forge's lap like a girl with her boyfriend. "Oh, I can't tell you how long it's been since we've wanted to have some little First Years under our wings... ain't that right Forge?"

"Quite right Gred!" Forge answered while hugging his twin tightly. "Why even as little babes in our mum's arms we were planning how to be good guides to the first years. And that we simply must have a boy and a girl..."

"Of course, it's only proper you see for a family to have at least one woman about..." Gred explained with a coy smile and a heavy blush. "I dare say it was love at first sight with me and Forge here..."

"No, it was chaos first, then the love came after."

"Oh so that it was..." Gred conceded before turning to look at the now completely confused and uncomfortable Harry. "Before we continue, I'm Fred and he's George, we're the Weasley twins. Ravenclaw members since last year. And our little brother is sitting in cabin 45 waiting for you... We recommend not going in there because halfway through, the doors and windows are going to seal and three spiders will be released. Harmless little garden spiders..."

"See, he thinks that if he befriends you, he'll become rich and famous..." George explained while Fred settled into the seat next to him, and off his lap. "We don't want that... but if you'd like to join the Ravenclaw Rebels, we're recruiting..."

"Ravenclaw Rebels?" Hermione perked up interested as she leaned in. "Sorry for interrupting, but I don't remember that being in _Hogwarts: A History_..."

"That's because we started it last year!" Fred proclaimed while puffing out his chest. "Just me and George here, working to exceed our famous predecessors the Marauders..."

At this the twins did some sort of holy ritual where they bit their thumbs and blew a raspberry while facing away from each other. After that they looped an arm over the other's shoulder and leaned in. "Now, Harry and... cute young witch that Harry has a fancy for..." George continued, ignoring the protest from Harry and the shocked look Hermione sported. "If you two are sorted into Ravenclaw, you could join us in our quest to improve the school from the boring and drab old magical thinking. We find that the muggles have a more entertaining mind-set. If not... I suppose we could set up branch memberships in the other houses..."

"Scholastic reform..." Hermione spoke with stars in her eyes. "A chance for the students to show the school the proper way to go about teaching us what we need to learn in order to function... After that it'd be such a small step into the world of social and political reform..."

"Err... right..." Fred started, his eyes shifting nervously towards George.

George smiled and nodded sagely. "Let's go with that..."

A jerk let them know that the train had started moving finally. Fred and George seemed prepared to spend the start of the trip catching up on sleep, Hermione opened her book again, and Harry, Harry just settled in to watch the scenery passing by outside the window.

Shortly after a scream, echoing through the halls alerted them to the fact that they were half-way to the school, a lady pushing a candy cart around stopped in to check if they wanted something. Initially Fred and George insisted that they didn't want any, and Hermione only seemed moderately interested, but declined politely. Before the lady left, Harry said that he'd buy all three of them some candy, as a thanks for hanging out with him.

Hermione watched a chocolate frog springing down the hallway, while a trio of students chased after it. "I really shouldn't... my parents wouldn't like me ruining my teeth with sweets..."

"Oh, is that what you're worried about dear?" The lady exclaimed while showing Harry a selection of chocolates that she assured him wouldn't leap away. "All wizarding candy has no actual sugar in it... it's enchanted that way... and we have some tooth cleaning chew-chews. They're brand new last month, and are delicious."

Hermione took a pair of the chew-chews, and something called a Goo-goo-ga-jube, Harry took a sample of filled chocolates, while the twins seemed to favor the toffees and taffy selection. It seemed they had made the wise choice, as they could hear vomiting from across the hall. Fred sighed and shook his head. "Looks like they found a really nasty flavored bean..."

"Bean?" Harry asked, the cream filled chocolate a hair's breadth from his mouth. "What beans?"

"Bertnie Botts Every Flavor Beans," George answered with a shudder. "I've had shoe polish before... it was disgusting."

The other three had a good chuckle, which George joined in after a moment. It seemed like it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Merlin help the Wizarding World.


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts: No sanity for you!

When we last left the rebels, they were settling in for the second half of their train journey to Hogwarts. Fred and George took the opportunity to warn them about Snape quizzing them on the first day about things that wouldn't be covered until the end of the year. They also suggested that Harry read his entire potions text if possible, since Snape was going to target him as he was the local celebrity.

And thus we found Fred and George planning out an elaborate prank, while Hermione tutored Harry on the entire potions text they would be studying that year.

Thus also did Draco Malfoy find them, while panting and sweating profusely. Apparently he'd been walking a long ways before coming upon this cabin, almost like he'd been expecting Harry at the opposite end of the train, about where Ron was.

"Potter... what are you doing with this Mudblood and these Mudblood lovers?" the bottle blonde sneered at our scarred protagonist, "You should know where the real power lies... us pure bloods have to stick together... I'm going to be in Slytherin... it would benefit you to do the same."

Harry looked at Draco, and then at the others in his cabin. First was Hermione who was just as confused as he is, and then at the twins that looked ready to rip him to pieces. Finally he turned back to Draco and asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy line, and my father is a powerful wizard," the weasel faced future Slytherin proclaimed proudly.

"Well Draco... I'll pass if being Slytherin meant I'd have to share a room with you for even a minute..." Harry stated dryly as he turned back to his potions textbook. "Now kindly sod off so I can study this..."

"It seems the fame has gone to your head Potter, maybe I should take you down a notch..." Malfoy snarled, right before a finger tapped him on the shoulder, and he came face to face with another Weasley.

"No fighting on the train," the stern faced redhead stated firmly while his prefect badge stood out brightly against his Gryffindor trim. "Leave them alone and get back to your seat... Fredrick, George, release Ronald."

Right behind the prefect, a foot-long slug slithered past while its owner, a whale of a boy waddled along. "Please leave my Ronald alone, I can't chase after him..."

"We'll take care of Ronnikins Percy, but first, have you met Harry here?" Fred asked congenially, while George hid their plans casually, and Draco slunk off like he'd been thwarted by a terrible foe.

Percy turned to look at Harry, with a huge grin on his face. "Hello there Harry, I'm Percy Weasley, and I'm a prefect for Gryffindor. I hope that you'll be joining me... can I see the scar?"

"Oi Percy, that's very rude!" George scolded the older brother with a deep frown.

"How would you like it if he asked to see the ingrown toenail you have? Get out of here!" Fred continued with a bark to his voice. "Out! Out! Out! What would Professor MacGonagall think if she'd heard you ask that? For shame!"

After herding Percy out and slamming the door shut in front of him, Fred turned around and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about him... it would seem that you're being famous made him forget the manners mom drilled into him..."

"Don't worry about it, you guys make up for him..." Harry answered with a happy smile on his face, unused to having someone stick up for him, but liking it all the more. "But what'd that Draco git mean about Hermione being a mudblood?"

"Oh, that's pure rubbish that pure-bloods like to tote around, supposedly with no muggle ancestors they're better at magic, but I bet Hermione here is going to outshine him by orders of magnitude... And for that matter, you're a half-blood, since you have muggles in your ancestory..." George explained with a snarl to his voice. "We Weasley's are pure-bloods, but we like muggles, and a few of us, like Fred and myself, have great respect for them."

"Our dad is the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and thinks that muggles could show the wizarding world some new life," Fred continued, "However, we're not so sure..."

"About mum..." George added sadly, "Lately she's been..."

"Obsessed with our younger siblings...."

"Ron and Ginny..."

"Becoming Harry's..."

"Friends or stalker."

"Anyone ever told you that's very annoying?" Hermione asked rhetorically, while indicating an ingredient on the list. "Remember this one is also known as Monkshood and Wolfsbane Harry, it's a good source for a trick question."

"Right then..." the twins stated after the utter rebuffing at the hands of Hermione, though they seemed to just smile all the larger for it.

The rest of the trip was completed in companionable silence, save for Fred and George wondering if they forgot something and Hermione and Harry talking about potions. A few miles out from the school, Fred and George started pulling on their robes, and suggested that the others do the same.

At the station, they bid the pair of first years a fond farewell and hopped in a carriage with a few other Ravenclaw students. Harry and Hermione were swallowed up by the flood of first years and ushered by Hagrid onto the boats. He took special care to seat Hermione and Harry right in front of him, so they could talk on the way.

As the boats were spirited away towards the shining beacon that would be their next seven years of education, and a majority of their life, no one noticed that the boats were light by one furious redhead hammering away at the window of his cabin near the back end of the train. Silencing spells were such a marvel when used properly after all, and the twins had many years of experience at the receiving end of it by their mother. Was it any wonder that they took the time to learn that first outside of class?

As the first years were led through the wandering halls of Hogwarts, MacGonagall briefed them on the the houses, and the points. Just before they reached the doors to the main hall, Harry asked a question that he'd been curious about. "What do we get if we win the house cup Professor?"

"Your house's colors are chosen for the end of year feast, and the house cup is displayed in your common room for the entire year. Also the house gets put on the plaque in the main entryway," MacGonagall answered calmly with a warm smile, before turning to open the doors leading to the welcoming feast.

Harry turned to Hermione who seemed to be upset about something. "Bragging rights? It's bribery with nothing to back it... all for the sake of making us behave? They can keep the house cup..."

It was at that moment that Draco spoke up. "Of course a filthy mudblood wouldn't understand, the house cup is a mark of pride and honor to whoever gets it. It shows off the superiority of the house that possesses it."

The response from the two muggle raised first years was cut off by a singing hat. At the end, Harry put his face into his hands and stifled a sound that could almost have been a sob, Hermione sighed and shook her head. "We could do better even if we had only had five minutes to write it..."

"How would you like to prove that?" a voice said from Hermione's left, causing Harry to look across her and find Fred standing there with a huge grin on his face. "Here, you left this on the train... or at least that's what MacGonagall is being told..."

Hermione took the paper that Fred was holding out with a confused look on her face. After he'd flitted off, arriving at his spot where two chairs were marked as reserved for H. Granger, and H. Potter. How no one noticed the three foot tall sparkling letters, with fireworks and sparklers shooting out from it, neither of them could understand. However it was after Hermione unraveled the paper that she really questioned the sanity of the twins.

The plan for this trick was epic in scale, execution, and design. But it severely lacked in the creativity of the actual performance. Suddenly a wicked smile spread across Hermione's face, as she tucked away the paper. "I think it's best you don't know what has been planned Harry... just be ready when your name's called..."

"Right..." Harry answered, as he heard Hermione's name being shouted by MacGonagall. His first friend was being sorted right now, and all he could do was pray that she sorted into a house he could get into. Maybe with the twins, since they seemed like a fun sort, and they'd make the years here interesting.

"_RAVENCLAW!_" Harry heard, feeling his heart leap for joy as the cheer sounded and Hermione took up her chair, which transfigured itself into a regal throne, along with half the table's chairs turning into slightly ostentatious thrones. She didn't seem to notice a thing, instead she started scribbling frantically on the paper from her robe's pocket with what looked like a bit of charcoal, with comments about additions by the twins.

As the names continued, Harry found himself focusing more and more on the fact that he didn't want to be alone in a house without his new friends around. He feared that he would be put into Slytherin, which seemed to be horrendously uptight and an entire section of them looked to be the result of inbreeding.

Turning his attention to the sorting hat, he found a chubby boy, Neville Longbottom her reminded himself, settling nervously on the seat. His pleasant smile and honest expression seemed to settle Harry's nerves as he wasn't alone in worrying about being sorted. When the hat proclaimed him to be Hufflepuff, Harry saw a look of surprise cross two of the teacher's faces. First was Dumbledore, but the other was a oily, black haired man.

He took the next moment to watch Draco Malfoy march up proudly to the stool, and was shocked at how fast the hat, which barely touched his head, proclaim him as a Slytherin. The only reason that he was shocked, was he didn't think the hat had even touched his head.

As the Slytherin finished cheering for their newest member, Dumbledore started calling his name, but only got to 'Har' before a blaring trumpet fanfare echoed through the hall. As he heard the doors lock behind him, he vowed two things. One: He would kill the twins. And two: he wouldn't complain about his cupboard under the stairs again if he would just be taken home right now.

"_MAKE WAY FOR MAGE HARRY!  
SAY HEY! IT'S MAGE HARRY!_"

That sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach opened up into a great void as the twins suddenly popped up on either side of him, dressed in top hat and tails. And then they continued singing.

"_Hey! Clear the way of the old'n Bizzare!_" the twins ordered, indicating the entire teachers table in a single sweep. "_Hey you!_" They shouted as Harry pivoted on the ball of his foot and tried to make it out of the area, apparently it wasn't him they were pointing at as they continued on somersaulting through the air to end up at Malfoy's side. "_Let us through!_"

Harry broke and ran for the door, which sadly had locked itself, sealing him to his fate. Not that he didn't exhibit the wit of a Ravenclaw by trying to beat through it with a borrowed pole-ax offered by a nearby suit of armor. "_It's a bright new star!_" Harry heard from too close by for comfort, as his arms were suddenly snatched up by the twins.

"_Oh come!_" they shouted happily as they dragged the struggling Harry along the main walkway. "_Be the first of your house to meet his eye!_"

The twins loosened their grip on the last word to do a dramatic bit of posing, which allowed Harry to slip free and make another attempt at escape, this time straight at the windows. Thankfully, Hermione seemed to read his thoughts, as she sang out. "_Make way! Here he comes! Ring bells!_" at that, Harry knew she wasn't supporting his departure plans, instead just carrying on with whatever song it was that had be-spelled the entire Hogwarts school. The last command was met with the entire Ravenclaws table clinking their glasses with knives.

"_Bang the drums!_" Hermione ordered again, and Harry turned away from the twins that had just appeared in front of him to prevent him from sprining out the window in time to see the entire Slytherin table bang their heads against the table so hard, that more than a few of them didn't get back up.

"_Oh! You're gonna love this guy!_" Hermione continued the torment, as all the unsorted first years grabbed Harry and lifted him up on their shoulders like a sports hero being carried off the field by his teammates. Only this group was carrying him towards the stool on which the sorting hat was waiting.

Harry caught sight of the entirety of Gryffindor raise their goblets to Harry as they began singing again. "_MAGE HARRY! VALIANT IS HE!_"

"_Harry Potter!_" the red and gold group continued proudly swinging their goblets in time almost as though in the midst of a drinking song. "_Strong as ten regular mages, definitely!_"

Harry felt some part of himself curl up and die, making him wonder if triple murder followed by suicide wasn't a wonderful way to end his first night at Hogwarts. And then Percy Weasley stood up and held up his goblet proudly towards Harry. "_He faced down you-know-who!_"

Next was some guy that Harry'd seen talking about something called Quidditch, he'd been bragging that his team would win this year. But that wasn't important, for he joined Percy in the toast towards Harry, and finished the rest of the sentence. "_Without ev'n reaching age two!_"

Suddenly all of Gryffindor stood up and raised their goblets towards the now gobsmacked child savior of the Wizarding World. "_Who sent that prat to his doom? Why, MAGE HARRY!_"

Really, deafness would be a great blessing any moment now. Maybe some blindness to go along with it, and a severe bout of amnesia, and how about a coma while he was asking for the wonderful blessings of not experiencing or remembering the song he was currently suffering through.

"_He's got several million galleons,_" Harry heard the Ravenclaws begin, as the wall behind them took on the appearance of the main floor of Gringotts. His jaw dropped open when Griphook waved to them with a pleasant sneer, instead of a scowl.

Somehow the Goblin not even remotely near Hogwarts got sucked in to the song as well, as he sang "_And that's just in Vault 5-7-3!_"

As Harry pondered about his wealth, as the Goblin's verse sounded as if he had much more than just the one vault to his name, a few students would ask why Dumbledore looked markedly uncomfortable at the mention of the vault.

Suddenly various books, all with titles about him, the-boy-who-lived, and the defeater of Voldemort/you-know-who, floated in front of his face, a few dozen Ravenclaws causing the tomes to levitate. He had to admit that spell could be very useful in the future. Sadly that didn't distract him from the next lines. "_He's got so many biographies..._"

"_We know he's in so many books, we just want to look..._" Half the table started dancing their way out the door, kicking their legs out in a rather flashy manner. "_So we're off to the library!_"

Harry understood that the rushed time-frame meant that the rhyme wouldn't be perfect, but he really wondered about the very upset look to Hermione's face. Instead of getting up, she merely settled back in her throne and put her feet up on the table. And then Harry knew, she wasn't innocent, so he couldn't spare her. It was a shame he'd have to lose a friend so soon after making his first, but if that is what life demanded...

His happy thoughts of murdering his best friends were interrupted suddenly and horrendously by the entirety of Hufflepuff standing up and flashing jazz hands at him. "_MAGE HARRY! FABULOUS HE!_"

He couldn't help but notice that more than a few of the guys in Slytherin looked more than a little interested in him than at the word fabulous. He thought that maybe it might be the best idea to avoid any situations where he had to bend over in front of them. "_Harry Potter!_" broke his thoughts up nicely as the Hufflepuff choir continued.

"_Genuflect! Show some respect!_" the least mentioned house shouted proudly as they dropped to their knees, heads bowed in submission. "_Down on one knee!_"

Suddenly Harry found himself within inches of the chair of fate, and the dread of his sorting was filling him even more than the dread of this song continuing ever could. "_Now, try your best to stay calm,_" the choir sang helpfully, while Harry countered with a mental example of how little he believed that would happen.

"_Best visit the salon!_" the Hufflepuffs continued, before all jutting a hand out at Harry being forced down into the stool and magically glued to it, thanks to the twins. The hat was dropped on his head by Hermione, and he mercifully was robbed of his sight. Sadly his hearing remained. "_And meet his spectacular coterie!_"

The atmosphere of the entire area changed, and he felt something disturbing happening as a voice infiltrated his brain. '_**Be glad you can't see this my boy... now... let's see... you would do well in any of the houses... any preferences?**_'

Harry thought of his friends, and their acceptance in Ravenclaw. It felt right being with them there, almost as if some grand plan designed to turn him into a puppet of an egomaniac with delusions of grandeur was being torn asunder. Thankfully he still couldn't see as the sound of Slytherin males singing. "_I'm too sexy for this song... too sexy for this song... so sexy it hurts!_"

'_**That's my cue to part lad, and don't worry, you're not going over there.... you're going to...**_' the voice broke off before Harry heard it shouting out loud to the audience, while Fred and George shouted out a dismayed "CUT!".

"**RAVENCLAW!**" Harry's ears heard, to be greeted by a strangled noise, two bodies hitting the ground, and then silence. Blessed silence.

Then as if people finally realized what was going on, a ripple of applause spread through Ravenclaw, missing a good amount do to missing students. Harry was lifted off the stool, and divested of the hat, before being frog marched to his reserved seat, sending more fireworks into the air, and the rest of the chairs transfiguring into thrones.

Faintly he heard the black haired teacher sneer to Dumbledore, "At least he's not letting the fame go to his head, hmm?"

Dumbledore had the good grace to move his plate to the side, before using the table as a concussion inducer.


	3. Into the Raven's Loft

Harry thought that once the food had arrived, and their meals were consumed, that he'd be led to the Ravenclaw dorms, where he'd find sanctuary and rest. After all, barely anyone recognized that that Ron kid was missing, even if the headmaster sent a curious tennis ball eyed creature to find him. Harry heard something from the twins about it being a house elf, and not being able to stop it from finding him. But he was distracted when food appeared on the table.

To be honest, the candy on the train had been a mistake, especially since he hadn't eaten anything for nearly a day at that point. The dry toast and cold soup he'd gotten for lunch hadn't been all that filling to begin with, but it was enough for him to get by on. Instead of pigging out like most of the others around him, he only took a small portion and ate it slowly, careful to not overeat. He knew he'd only end up in the infirmary if he did.

His dessert had consisted of a single cookie, which was warm, moist, and far less burnt than any he'd had before. It was for this reason that when the desserts disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up, that he was one of the few not complaining. Next to him, Hermione was also silent, but her eyes didn't turn to the headmaster, instead they remained fixed on Harry.

"Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts. I would like to warn that the west corridor on the third floor is forbidden on the pain of death..." at this Harry's eyes widened, and Hermione's switched targets with a speed that Harry worried hurt her neck. "Also, a reminder that the Forbidden Forest is just that... forbidden. And I would like to stress that students should not wander in it without supervision..."

Harry couldn't tell, but he swore that Dumbledore was glaring straight at the twins, who seemed to be trying to be as angelic as possible. Harry figured that last statement was targeted at them in particular.

"Now, let us welcome our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell," the aged headmaster continued before leading the entire school in a rather lackluster applause. Harry watched as the nervous turban wearing professor stood up slightly and waved with a worried, sickly smile.

"And finally, I would ask that students refrain from putting on such productions as earlier in the future..." he concluded before letting the students resume their feasting. The food returning precisely as it had left, down to the last bite-mark and crumb.

Shortly after desserts were finished, the first years were gathered up, and escorted up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and up another flight of stairs, to a door with a bronze eagle shaped knocker on its front. One of the prefects who had been guiding them stepped up and indicated the door. "This is the entrance to our dorm's common room. When you get to it, it will ask you a riddle which you must solve in order to enter... I would like a volunteer from the first years for the first one of the year."

Several hands were raised, and pointed to Hermione. "Miss Granger, if you wouldn't mind..." As Hermione walked to the front of the group, Harry overheard the twins talking behind him. "Amazing that she was able to bend the rules like that during the feast Gred..."

"Indeed it is Forge... and our widdle Harrykins running gave us enough time to play out most of the song..." George answered while rubbing his chin. "I thought for certain we were going to be docked points for that one..."

"Ah, but we broke no rules, and even if we did, there was no trace to Ravenclaw itself..." Fred countered with a pleased smile to his face. "The only issue was the... performance... of the Slytherin house... completely off-key and poorly performed... And their song absolutely did not fit in with our lovely theme..."

"Always the center of attention that lot..." George supplied with shake of his head. "Think we should use the map to see what's so special about the corridor?"

"Absolutely we should... and our junior partners should join us in the looking..."

Harry didn't have time to ask about what they meant, instead he was dragged in by the current of the first years, as they entered he got to look around the room, finding a blue and silver striped motif to the walls and furniture of the common room. The prefect that had pulled Hermione aside stood in front of two stairways. "Boys, you are down the stairs to my left, first years are the lowest rooms, so make sure you wake up early enough. Girls, you are at the top of the stairs going up on my right, like the boys you'll want to make sure you're awake early enough, as you're the top most floor. Curfew is in another hour, but I recommend staying to the common room."

Looking around, Harry saw a rather large fireplace with mantel against an outer wall, with a large portrait of the Rowena Ravenclaw hung dead center. On either side of the fireplace were large windows, that gave a beautiful view of the horizon, and if he wasn't too mistaken, would be idle for watching the Sun rise. To the left as he went around there were the two set of stairs for the dorms, a door that had Professor Flitwick written on it in bold print, and then came the bookshelves. He could already feel the draw to the tomes of knowledge just waiting for eager young minds to peruse their depths and glean just that little bit more about the secrets of the universe from them.

It was easy to say he was going to like it, especially if those novels he saw at one end of the bookshelves were as interesting as he'd heard. After that came the entrance they'd just came in. Nothing too noticeable to the door, save for the raven sitting on the bust over the door. If he heard it say Nevermore, he was out of there so fast he'd leave a smoking trail.

There was another set of bookshelves on the other side of the door, but this one held many awards and accomplishments in both academia and athletics throughout the year. He even caught sight of a few portraits and clippings of famous alumni in the background. And then he was back to the windows and the fireplace. All together it was a cozy room, that he felt he could enjoy spending time in. There was plenty of room, and tables for reading, studying, or maybe even some games. Lots of comfortable looking chairs and couches, and even as he watched, little sconces began lighting, illuminating the furniture in an almost natural light.

Harry caught sight of the twins leaning against one of the couches on the opposite side of the flood of first years heading to the stairs, and saw them subtly pointing to the fireplace, while the other raised up a full spread of fingers on one hand. He guessed that meant a meeting over there in five minutes, or it might mean five minutes after everyone was gone. Instead of asking for clarification he meandered over to the bookshelves, and began looking through them. To his immense relief, he wasn't the only one checking out the books.

Leaning in to check out one of the titles, he almost let out a groan of dismay. The first book he ever looked at in the place and it was pure fiction, "_The Life and Times of The-Boy-Who-Lived_" he had to wonder why he got the dubious honor of such a wonderful hyphenated name. Maybe next they'd just stick his nose in a door and slam it shut. It'd be a lot less painful.

"I see that you don't like the fame Harry..." Hermione stated from beside him, with hints of shame and nervousness in her voice. "But... I couldn't resist the challenge and..." she trailed off as he looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry... please don't be mad..."

Now Harry had been planning a slaughter of his new so-called friends, but seeing Hermione nervously rubbing her arm, while nibbling her lower lip with her slight buck tooth as her frizzy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders did something he couldn't figure out. It made him want to apologize for his actions, to beg forgiveness for something he couldn't figure out what.

"Huh? Oh... uh... no it's okay... I..." Harry stammered out while blushing and looking away. "I don't mind it... let's just leave it as over and done with, and move on. Alright Hermione?"

"You... you mean you still want to be friends?" the girl asked, as though hardly able to believe it. The burning look of hope in her eyes made Harry want to kneel down in front of her, and pledge his eternal friendship, instead he just smiled nervously and nodded.

"Yeah... I mean you didn't know, and I guess it was more of the twin's fault..." Harry started before something struck him. Looking around he noticed the room was now empty, save the twins over by the fireplace, waving them over. "Let's go see what mischief we're up to... friend...."

Harry offered his hand, which she shyly shook, and together they walked over to the fireplace. "Well, well, well, lookie here Fred... it seems our little first years are moving fast..."

Fred looked up from the piece of paper he'd pulled out, and smiled widely when he saw what his twin was talking about. Harry followed his gaze, and found it was locked on where he and Hermione were still holding hands from the shake. A burning blush burst out on his face, as the two of them snapped their hands away and turned away from each other, but he did manage to catch a similar blush on Hermione's face, as well as a small smile.

Picking up his dignity, and a little courage, he broke the embarrassed silence. "What's up? I heard you two talking about a..." Harry started, before looking around curiously, he couldn't tell why, but he felt like someone was watching them. "Research project to check out... maybe in cartography?"

The twins looked momentarily confused before letting out a hearty laugh. "Oh that's rich Harry, good senses though... Let us introduce you to our co-founder, and supervisor... Rowena Ravenclaw."

Harry followed the both twin's hand leading to the portrait over the fireplace, who was waving at them with a brilliant smile on her face. "Hello dearies, don't mind me, I love a good laugh. And if what I saw in the Great Hall is any indication, I am going to get several out of you lot."

Harry noticed two very distinct things at that precise moment, Hermione squeaked when startled, and Rowena was smiling weirdly at him. As he squirmed under her gaze, he gave her a slightly nervous smile in return. "Oh this is wonderful!" the portrait exclaimed while clapping her hands and seemingly leaning in closer to them. "You're muggle raised are you not? Oh that is wonderful, it is so delightful seeing the changes that you bring to this mundane world of Wizards and Witches... I expect great things of my Rebels, and even greater of you two..."

"Right then, Professor Ravenclaw, this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger... we met them on the train this year and recruited them," Fred explained while indicating the two first years in order. "Now that introductions are done, let's get to business..."

"This my dear younglings, is the secret of our success," Fred explained while holding out the plain piece of paper to the two first years. "The Marauder's Map. The Lovely and Talented Lady Rowena mentioned to us Filch had it last year, during one of our detentions... and we just happened to get it knocked into our robes. Took a bit of doing finding the password..."

"We tried everything we could think of, until Lady Rowena mentioned she saw a group of students tap it with their wands and say 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good'" George continued, putting action to word, revealing the map as it slowly filled the parchment, even splitting down the center to show multiple levels. "And thus we find the entirety of Hogwarts revealed to us..."

The foursome all looked at the map with various levels of curiosity, pinpointing the various areas that they recognized as the houses. Until finally they came to the third floor corridor on the west side of the building, and noticed that there were people there. "Quirinus Quirrel and Tom Riddle... they'd have to be right on top of each other for that overlap..." Fred pointed out, looking slightly uneasy.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Hermione stated with a frown, "Why would he and another guy be right on top of... each..."

As light dawned on Hermione, the twins looked to their silent fourth member who had pulled back from the group with a deepening frown on his face. "If that is supposed to be forbidden on pain of death... I don't know if they'd use it for that... but maybe we should keep an eye on him... I have a bad feeling..."

"Oh? A bad feeling is it? Well deary, let me tell you, I used to get them all the time. I learned the folly of not listening to them..." Rowena spoke up quietly, her eyes downcast and saddened as she fidgeted with the flowers in her hands. "If you have a bad feeling, then trust it lad... it may just save a life."

The Rebels all looked at each other nervously, before George folded up the map and tapped it again. "Mischief Managed..." The map was replaced again with the blank piece of parchment, before it was tucked away in his robes. "I think we should all go to bed, and meet up in the morning..."

With a nod from the others, they parted and walked off to their beds. Harry had a little extra to walk than the twins, but he found it was somewhat relaxing. It was nice to be able to get away from the others for a while, even it was only for a moment. Finally he got to the first years door, and let himself in, to find another hallway. His door was the first one on the right, so he went in and found a cozy room that he knew was far too large to fit before the next door marking the next room.

Entering his room, he found his trunk sitting at the end of what he assumed was his four poster bed, decked out in blue and silver. To one side was a large vanity with dresser drawers on either side of the bench, he could see a door to a closet, one marked bathroom, and another bookshelf, with his books all neatly grouped by subject matter, on one shelf. Maybe he should pick up some more to fill it up. Opening a drawer, he found a set of silken pajamas waiting for him, with his embroidered name on top.

Rather than question the extravagance of his new quarters, he changed into the pajamas and crawled into the bed, finding it nice and firm. Within moments of his head finding the pillows he was asleep. Free of fear, free of pain, free of embarrassment at the hands of his friends. He was safe, content, and subconscious. Life was definitely looking up for Harry Potter.


	4. Of Mirrors and House Elves

Harry sat bolt upright in his bed after rolling on his side. Letting out a hiss of pain he lifted his arm to check the bruise there. After a moment he lifted up the shirt so that he could actually see the bruise itself. It looked like it would be tender for the next day or two, but would heal, after all he knew for certain that Dudley hadn't broken his ribs again. That hurt a lot more.

Getting out of the bed, he shuffled his bare feet across the bed towards the bathroom. After relieving the heavy pressure that was foremost on his mind, he began to wonder about the time, and if he had enough time to shower before class. Looking around he found something he'd not noticed on his vanity, there was a huge clock set in the main mirror, that showed him the time was quarter past four, meaning he had plenty of time. Now just to find a shower. "May I help you sir?" a female voice spoke up causing him to whip his head around, and to self-consciously cover his boxer clad lower half.

"Err.... who's here?" Harry asked nervously while looking around.

"I am cutie, the mirror," the voice clarified, while a face replaced the clock. "I am glad to have gotten used again. You are very handsome, aren't you sweetie? You can call me Mirror, or just Mir is fine..."

"Oh... ummm Mir..." Harry started, while looking at the door. "Where're the showers, or baths?"

"Oh... I suppose you would like to clean before grooming..." Mirror answered with a glassed pout to her lips. "Go out your door, it's at the opposite end of the hall. Please do be quick. I really like it when such a handsome, virile, young man such as yourself needs my undivided attention, and your hair needs so much."

"My hair? Oh... I suppose it is a bit of a mess..." Harry muttered nervously while digging out some clean clothes, laying out his robes, and snatching up a towel. "I'll be back shortly..."

After finding slippers, he walked down the hall, finding the shower with ease. He'd never felt such wonderful hot water, nor realized just how many millions of scents shampoos and soaps came in, but he found himself wondering if he might just be getting too use to things. His return to his room, had him finding dozens of brushes, combs, hand mirrors, scissors, and what he guessed were grooming products waiting for him. "Mir? W... what's all this?"

"Oh hello there handsome, these are just a few tools to tease your hair... I think the mussed rake look would suit you well..." Mir called out with a lilting tone to her voice. "Now come and let us work to make you the star of Hogwarts!"

Twenty minutes of the most confusing, and tiresome work he'd ever considered doing on his hair, Harry was finally approved of by Mir. He snatched up his robes, and carefully put it on without messing up his hair. He'd managed to convince Mir that natural was best for his hair, and that covering his scar was his preference.

Getting to the common room, he was actually surprised he wasn't the only one awake. Fred and George were sitting there talking over the map, while pointing at various things. After they'd heard Harry's arrival, they prepared to pull out some books over as a cover. But once they saw who it was, they simply smiled. "Got assisted by your mirror did you? Never let on you have a lover, seven years is nothing compared to if your mirror refuses to see you."

"Oh I know dear! I once got in a fight with my mirror, and for an entire decade he would not see me at all. It was amazing that Helga let me come over with the sight I must have been," Rowena gushed worriedly, before looking over Harry with a trained eye. "There's a good lad, bright and early, and sharp as a tack that one. But where is my other dear Rebel... Oh there she is! And... she looks perplexed..."

Harry and the twins turned to look at Hermione, only to gawk with their jaws hanging open. Gone was the frizzy hair mass of brown, and in its place was a tight bun, with a pair of sticks stabbed through. The perplexed look on her face had Harry's heart racing, as he could only think one single thing. '_She looks good like that..._'

"Oi, Hermione, what's the look for?" one of the twins called out, for the other to clarify.

"What's got you so confused?"

Harry remembered finally the mysterious ability to breathe, which he had somehow forgotten when his heart began racing. Sadly it was taken away by Hermione's answer, that had him and the twins laughing. "I've never been given homework by a mirror before..."

"What'd it assign you?" Harry asked after the chuckling died down, surprised that Hermione had actually joined in.

"Flect ordered me to first give my parent's name and number out to everyone, as I have the best smile he's ever seen, save for my buckteeth. He ordered me to find a potion recipe for a special pore refiner... and..." Hermione started before blushing heavily.

"Flirted with you?" Harry asked, remembering everything Mir had said to him. It would make sense that the did so as well.

"Well... in a way... originally I had thought that he was..." Hermione trailed off while looking down and fidgeting. "He had a lisp, kept talking to me about boys... it was... weird..."

It took Harry a few seconds to figure out what exactly that was supposed to mean, and instead decided to look at the main door. "Umm... when can we go get our schedules?"

Fred looked up at the time piece on the mantle and sighed. "If we walk slow, the ten minutes will pass before we get there. Orrrr...."

"We could use some help planning out this little prank..." George finished holding up the map teasingly. As twin growls emitted from their stomach the pair looked at each other sheepishly. "Right, to breakfast it is... Professor Flitwick will pass them out to us while we eat."

"Didn't you use the silencing charm on the train?" Hermione asked curiously, while shifting her robes slightly. "Is there somewhere we can leave our bags? I don't want to run late because I had to go up to my room and switch out my books..."

"Oh that?" Fred asked before looking up at Rowena, who gave a warm smile and a stately nod. "This is a Rebel only secret, if you tap the fifth brick on the left side of the mantle, the one facing the window there, while stating your name quietly. A house elf will appear, you tell them what books you need from your room, and they'll bring you it. Only three times per term per person."

"Oh, and do leave them a little something as thanks. We usually leave them little flowers, as they don't get out much, and Lady Rowena has given them the love of flowers," George explained softly while looking around curiously. "As you two are both muggle-raised, we should explain something..."

Hermione and Harry sat down on the couch, knowing that it would take about five minutes to get to breakfast, if they needed to rush that is. Once they were settled, Fred sighed and tapped the map, muttering "Mischief Managed" before tucking it away and standing in front of the first years. "You could equate the house elves in general to a race of slaves," Fred started, before holding his hand up to stop Hermione's protest rant. "But they're not. In fact, all the elves employed here at Hogwarts are freed elves, released by their owners, or the death of the same."

"Most forget this, but the servitude of the elves originated after they sided with the goblins in the last war. What this servitude actually did was two-fold in nature. It fulfilled the almost compulsive need to clean for the elves, and it was supposed to build a lasting relationship of trust..." George explained with a frown as Rowena looked away in shame.

After a moment, the portrait picked up the lesson. "Sadly, pureblood families bought up almost all of the contracts of house elf clans, and distributed them amongst themselves. Some, such as the Weasley's were excellent masters, and treated the house elves as family members, rather than slaves. Others..."

"Worse than death some of them... they were freed right enough, but there are a few that beat and torment their elves..." Fred explained, looking like he swallowed an entire cart load of dung. "With the current administration, it's impossible to get leverage to improve and I quote '_the inconsequential treatment of filthy magical creatures_'. End quote."

"That's the ministry's official stance," George continued, slinging his arm over his brother's shoulder. "However, that is the worst case scenario... it's sad but the purebloods run the show, and of them, the richest and most influential tend to be like the Malfoys... you've met Draco."

"There was a couple hopeful sorts, one being the most noble and ancient house of Potter, and judging by the look on your face Harry, I think we wouldn't even have to ask for your help..." Fred stated warmly with a sad smile as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and George put one on Hermione's "There's nothing we mere students can do, as the elves here are all more than happy, and love working here... but I ask that both of you keep in mind their plights in the future..."

"Right you lot, off to breakfast now," Rowena ordered with a warm smile. "There are others coming."

The quad walked out without another word, taking a long route in order to let Harry and Hermione think things through. It was curious just what they were thinking about though. "There should be a class for muggles about the Wizarding World..."

"Hmm?" Fred asked curiously, while they rounded a corner, and started down one of the main shifting staircases. "A class for you to learn about the Wizarding World? Isn't that all of them?"

"No, those are about magic... and History of Magic, but what I mean is the society in which we are entering, both feet into a pool over our heads as it were..." Hermione explained while they waited for the stairs to align so they could continue on. "I read up on Muggle Studies, which is available for our third year, but there is nothing of the equivalent for muggles entering into the Wizarding World..."

"Yeah..." Harry answered with a puzzled frown of his own. "I mean that was a potential landmine issue you just helped us avoid..."

"What's on your mind Harry?" George asked as they finally reached the ground floor, and started heading for the Great Hall.

"If I'm from a very rich family like you said... I should probably man up and take the reigns of my finances..." Harry answered quietly, his hands rubbing together nervously. "I'm not entirely certain what good that would do... but I would like to try..."

"We could help you get started..." Fred intoned suggestively, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"For a small favor in return..." George continued almost as if they shared the same thought, and certainly did share the same twinkle.

"Get Hermione to help too," the twins flat out demanded before pushing open one of the doors each, to a very empty Great Hall. "Oh we are early ones are we not?"

"That's fine... let's get our food and find a seat..." Harry offered while looking around. "I guess they're going to serve us similarly to the feast last night..."

"I imagine so Harry," Hermione answered, as she started walking towards the table with the twins. "It would be far more practical than having a buffet if you think about it. No chance of students running late due to lines..."

Harry nodded silently, and took a seat at the end of the table, careful to have his bruised side towards the outside, so that none of his friends could accidentally hit it. Hermione took the seat on his side, while the twins claimed the seats opposite of them. "Eggs, sunny side up, and chewy bacon please" Fred called out, just before a plate appeared before him, filled to the brim with eggs and bacon.

"French toast and sausages, please," George ordered, getting his plate filled as well, a smaller plate of butter and a pitcher of syrup arriving next to his goblet.

"That's rather brilliant, isn't it? Everyone is happy, and plenty of food for the growing student..." Hermione remarked while she looked at the plates. "I think I would like some oatmeal please, with a sliced peach inside it if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."

Harry watched in wonder as a large bowl of oatmeal with more peach inside it than he'd ever considered possible. He knew that if he ordered something like that, he'd be sick for the rest of the day. That's when he thought of something curious he'd always liked to try. "Could I get a couple slices of light toast with strawberry preserves, please?"

The trio noticed their friend's light eating habit again, but wrote it off as nerves, however when Cho accidentally bumped into him, and he flinched in pain, the others felt something was up. "Alright there Harry?" Fred asked curiously while Harry straightened himself up.

"Yeah, just slept wrong I guess..." Harry answered, without looking at his friends.

This didn't sit well with the trio, but they decided that it would be a better idea to leave it for the moment, instead of pressing the matter. If Harry felt like trusting them, he would talk to them about what was really happening, but if they pressed, he'd bottle it away, and possibly avoid them.

Breakfast continued in silence, Harry never once meeting any of the others' eyes, instead seeming too focused on his plate. About two bites away from everyone finishing their meals, Flitwick arrived and gave them there letters. "Didn't expect you kids to be so early... but I should have known better than to not expect the unexpected from the twins... and you two as well if last night was anything to go on..."

"Was that why you fell off your chair last night professor?" Fred asked curiously, "I mean we know about Professor Quirrel fainting dead away, but you were a surprise..."

Flitwick's cheeks deepened into a maroon hue while he fidgeted slightly under the gaze of his students. "Actually... I was so surprised that I got _the_ Harry Potter in my house that I slipped... not that I noticed for laughing so hard... Oh and 100 points to Ravenclaw for that excellent spellwork last night, and who helped you write that song?"

Hermione shyly raised her hand, with a faint blush tinging her cheeks. "Oh marvelous! Another 50 points for such a wonderful tune, and in such a short time-frame too. I'm sorry that Dumbledore's making me take off the 30 points for the prank last night boys, and you too Miss Granger, but I thought it was an excellent start of the year. So much less stuffy than most, and more sensible than Albus's 'few words' trick..."

Harry opened up his schedule as Flitwick walked away to continue dropping off the schedules to the rest of the students. "Double DADA with the Hufflepuffs first thing this morning, and then we have charms with Professor Flitwick..."

"Sounds like a good way to start off the week, nice and light..." Fred said helpfully as he leaned over to look over the schedule. "Looks like your flying lesson will be on Wednesday..."

"Lesson?" Hermione asked confused, before the other word filtered through. "F... flying? Uhh..."

George saw the fear filled look on Hermione's face and patted her shoulder gently. "Don't worry Hermione, there's a sticking charm on the brooms, a cushioning charm on the Quidditch pitch, and the brooms they use are so old that you can't get too high."

"Oh? So... it's safe?" Hermione asked nervously, her hands fidgeting slightly around her schedule. "There should be more than one lesson... shouldn't there?"

"They expect the students to get enough of that at home..." George answered dryly. "And those that can't are supposed to use their free time to train. Madam Hooch is always available for extra lessons, but they never tell anyone not on the Quidditch teams... don't know why..."

Fred leaned in and whispered softly to the others. "It's the Pureblood conspiracy... think about it... only those with Wizarding parents in Wizarding only society are able to allow their kids to ride broomsticks whenever they want..."

"You know Fred... I've been thinking... our little Harry is rather nimble... maybe he should try out as a seeker next year..." George replied, while rubbing his chin in thought. "I dare say he would be an excellent one... now we just need to see him fly."

"Pity it won't be for another two weeks at the least..."

"Aye... and we'll likely be in class..." George answered, with a devious smirk on his face.

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she looked at the twins, sarcasm dripped from every letter as she hissed out. "I'm sure that's stopped you before..."

"Before you judge us, sit through History of Magic, that's what we have on Wednesday," Fred offered with his hands raised defensively before him, as though warding himself from Hermione's fury. "I promise if you don't agree, we'll attend every single class, and ask for double homework from Professor Binns."

"Deal, but I must warn you, it will be difficult to make me agree..." Hermione answered with a smirk of her own. "And should I end up agreeing with you?"

The twins smirked at each other, before nodding and facing the younger girl properly with a huge, devilish grin on their faces. "You invite us over for a week during Christmas," they stated in perfect unison, making them seem like they had only one brain.

Hermione was about to comment on that, when a loud and grating voice came over from the Gryffindor table causing the Rebels to look over in disgust at the youngest Weasley brother. "Oi, I'd like some scrambled eggs, french toast, waffles, hard eggs, pancakes, sausages, bacon, wheat toast with butter, beef steak, soft eggs, pork chops, white toast with grape preserves, Eggs Benedict on an English muffin, mashed potatoes, hash-browns, and some blood pudding with pumpkin juice."

Hermione was about to comment about the vomit inducing amount of food that Ron had just ordered, when Harry bolted from the table, with a nasty green shade to his face. Fred was right on his heel, as George helped Hermione clean up the area a little bit. "Sorry about the prat, he is a bottomless pit..."

Fred helped Harry gather himself after emptying his breakfast into the toilet. "Sorry about him mate... you alright? I've known his diet to make one uneasy... but..." he trailed off while swirling a hand in the air.

"I'm fine... it's just nerves Fred..." Harry lied, giving him a nervous grin before washing his face in the sink.

"Harry... Can we cut the crap? That wasn't nerves when Cho ran into you, and you don't eat enough for a kid half your size... Look mate... I know it's personal... but if you ever need to talk... my door is open, I won't judge, nor would I tell George or Hermione anything if you didn't want me to..." Fred started off seriously, before turning sensitive and tender. "They saw it too mate..."

Harry looked Fred in the eyes for a moment before sighing and lowering his gaze. "They saw huh? Alright... after classes tonight... I'll meet you in the great hall... if you can take us somewhere we can be alone... have them meet me there..."

"Harry... mate... you don't have..." Fred started, his voice worried and full of concern.

"I know I don't... but I think it might help to talk about it..." Harry answered sadly, while giving Fred a weak smile. "Now let's get our books, and we'll meet up later..."

"Sure mate..."


	5. Scars, Bruises, and Confrontations

Harry knew that things were going too well shortly after he'd finished his first Defense Against Dark Arts class. First was the fact that Hermione was constantly on his injured side the entire time, and then there was the fact that he managed to get the first few questions asked right without even looking at the text.

Most of the things he'd been asked were basics for avoiding people, escape measures, and even a few body points to aim for when trying to break free of another. The first two sets were things he'd learned fleeing from Dudley's gang, while the third were ones that the officers had told them during a safety lecture in primary school. And yet that still netted him more than a few approving looks from his classmates, twenty points for Ravenclaw, and a worried look from Hermione.

If she had suspicions, she wasn't going to let them fly in front of the entire school, and he hoped that the nervous smile he gave her told her how much he appreciated it. The supportive smile she shot back seemed like it meant that she did, but some dark nagging point told him she was just setting him up for a fall. She wouldn't want to be his friend after finding out how weak and defenseless he was. That she only liked him for being the heroic Boy-Who-Lived, which he would still like to know why he couldn't get a better name than that, and when she found out he was just a scared weakling, she would leave him in the dust.

For some reason, the slightly louder voice that responded to the first reminded him of that alien guy Spock on that show Vernon and Dudley loved. Not that he knew what show it was, since he never saw the title card, nor could he even say who the actor was. But it was the same dry logical voice telling him and the dark voice that reassured him that Hermione hadn't known him as the hero, and the Twins didn't want him as a celebrity. Instead all of them wanted him to be Harry, and to pull pranks.

Further, if they had only wanted the strong hero, why would Fred have told him he'd keep his secret. Even from his own twin brother. That spoke of a caring for him on a personal level, not as some grand heroic figure. Maybe they would understand, maybe they could help him out, maybe he could prove to himself that he's not a worthless freak like his relatives always called him. Maybe they could even become his family.

That thought struck him, just as he sat down at the lunch table. Family was something others had, something warm and special that he'd only heard of, and seen, that his classmates had. For now, he just wanted friends, but if he could have friends in this world, why couldn't he build a family?

"A chicken sandwich on wheat toast, dry please... and water please..." Harry asked what he assumed were the House Elves serving their table, and only a heartbeat later, his sandwich appeared in front of him, still warm and inviting him to take a bite. Following the invitation, he bit down into the sandwich and smiled as he realized that the House Elves were making sure he had his vegetables too, as they added lettuce and tomato to the sandwich. He should be alright with the acid in the tomatoes, after all the toast and chicken should absorb most of it.

He knew the other Rebels were watching him closely, but for some reason it felt good to know they cared. However, there was something else that he felt watching him. Something far more malevolent than his friends ever could manage. Looking up, he swept his gaze along all the tables, until he finally caught sight of the teacher's tables. A greasy black haired man was staring at him coldly through slight eyes, he barely heard "That's Snape, he teaches potions..." from one of the twins before a sharp stabbing pain tore into his forehead, right where his scar was.

Breaking eye contact with Snape, he looked back to his plate, slipping his hand to his forehead to rub the lingering pain away from the scar. That was new, as far as he could remember, he had never felt anything like that before. He thought about going to see the nurse, but wrote it off as nerves acting up again. But somewhere inside him that didn't feel right. Maybe after he talked to the others tonight, he could talk to them about the pain and they'd know something.

"Harry... are you alright?" Hermione asked from beside him quietly, causing a small smile to spread on his face. She did care, the logical voice from earlier stated, now be a good lad and answer her.

"Y...yeah... I'll be fine... just..." Harry started before he realized how much that sounded like a bad attempt at lying. "Can we talk about it later? I think it would be better if we were alone for this..."

"Sure Harry, we'll talk later..." Hermione assured him, patting him lightly on the shoulder. He could feel her pointed stare at the twins to say something, anything, to help diffuse the situation.

"Say mate, would you mind helping us out?" Fred asked curiously, while passing over what looked curiously like wooden coin. "Would you rub this four times, while thinking the words '_Mischief Makers Mark Made_' during your next class?"

Harry took the coin and looked it over curiously before pocketing. "Sure... but what..."

"Shh!" George hissed while Fred covered his reaching across the table to look like he was reaching for the butter between Harry and Hermione. "Good afternoon Headmaster, how are you?"

"I am well Mister Weasley..." Dumbledore answered with a kindly smile, before looking at the four Rebels. "It looks like you are adjusting well to life here, Miss Granger, Mister Potter. Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

"No, thank you, Headmaster," Hermione answered with a bright smile, and Harry just shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. "Is there something we can do for you sir?"

"Oh no, no, I just like to check up with our Muggle raised students now and then," the wizened old man answered while stroking his chin. "See how they're managing, offer any advice and comfort I may have. If you have any problems, just let Professor Flitwick know, and if he cannot help you, I will always have a chair ready, and some lovely lemon drops. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley are more than familiar with the way."

Harry would have to be even blinder than he already was, to miss the way the twins both colored at that comment. Harry would have to be a complete and utter idiot to not know what for, but yet his mind couldn't help but think about the map. "Thank you Headmaster..."

Albus smiled warmly at Harry and Hermione before walking off, stopping to talk to students at seemingly random. The Rebels watched him for a couple before they returned to eating. Harry thought about the coin in his pocket and wondered briefly just what it could do. Maybe it would paint the entire Slytherin house a bright pink, or give Gryffindor giant yellow strips down their spine with black letters proclaiming '_Gryffindor Chicken: Try our Breasts!_'. Or maybe it'll just dump glue on a class, and rain feathers down on the poor students caught under the trap.

The possibilities were nearly endless with that little disk of wood in his pocket, and he could feel something strange building up in his chest. It was like dread, but instead of not wanting it to happen, he was eager for it. Could.... Could this be something that he wanted? Yes, it felt like when he saw those families playing and laughing, that he wanted to be with them in that type of setting instead of the outside. But.... this felt like he could actually get what he wanted.

While he was thinking about the wonderful new sensation he was feeling, his lunch disappeared into his mouth one bite at a time. He finished first, but the others weren't far behind. He knew that his stomach wouldn't hold much more, but it was still better than he had been doing. At this rate, he figured he'd be able to eat a full decent sized meal by the Halloween in little more than two months, and if he was lucky, he could actually join in with any type of Christmas Feasting the school might have. If he was exceptionally lucky, he might be able to gain some muscles and fat before going back home in the summer.

Maybe having something between his bones and Dudley's fists, and other things, would make it less painful. He might actually be able to stand being trapped with the Dursleys for the summer months, if it meant that he could come back here to his friends.

After lunch, there was a quick walk back to the Ravenclaw tower, where they swapped out for their afternoon classes. Much to his amazement, he was done before Hermione or the twins, and spent the time waiting for them looking at the books on the shelves. One of them caught his attention in particular. '_Survival Guide for Magic Users_' by Rowena Ravenclaw.

He'd pulled it off the shelf and began reading the forward when something caught his eyes. '_A witch or a wizard can survive off their magical reserves in cases of starvation or dehydration for up to three days before the body begins to cannibalize other body parts. This should only be used as a final resort measure, as the effects of starvation and dehydration are negated, the body is not able to process the nutrients that they would have gained otherwise. A curious side note is that their magical reserves will be increased due to the constant drain on it._'

That would explain so much, like how he was even still alive after that week where Uncle Vernon had locked him in the cupboard under the stairs with only a slice of bread to eat, and no water. Hearing footsteps, he slipped the book back onto the shelf and continued looking at the others, wondering if there was a process to check out books from the shelves like at the library.

As Hermione entered the area, he smiled and waved, she looked curious about something, as though there was a great thought weighing on her mind. His smile faltered as she looked at the twins as they emerged from the stairs. It however was replaced by a laugh as she asked something he'd never considered. "Has your brother Ronald ever been checked for a tapeworm?"

"What's a tape worm?" Fred asked in clear and honest confusion, before turning to look at his twin.

"It might be one of those Muggle bondage thingies... but I don't think Ronnikins is into that..." George answered while scratching the back of his head. It was about this point that Harry realized that he might want to smuggle a Muggle dictionary in. It would be so much easier than trying to explain things like this.

While Hermione explained what exactly a tapeworm is, Harry watched the twin's faces turn a lovely shade of Slytherin green. Towards the end of her lecture, Hermione paused and blushed. "Oh... I forgot, it decreases the appetite... not increases... sorry."

"I think that we have just..." Fred started, before swallowing something down, and retaining the green hue.

"Become vegetarians... thank you Hermione..." George continued, looking only marginally better than his twin. "But it's nice of you to worry about Ron... we should get him checked for... other things with how he eats..."

Harry's mirth faded before Hermione's as he thought about it, he never had much of an appetite, and they did say that the worms caused abdominal pains, which he's suffered before. Could he have a tapeworm? Did the medical world even have a means of fighting them? What if it was fatal? Would his relatives win even with him so far away from them?

"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, suddenly at his side as he slumped down along the wall, turning ghost white as worries flooded his mind.

"I.... I..." Harry started while fighting back some of the panic he was feeling gripping his heart in its icy grip. "I ha... have a d...decreased... appetite..."

The trio of people he considered friends, looked at each other and with a single nod picked him up and carried him over to the couch, where they forced him to lay down. Hermione was next to his head, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Harry? Listen to me... I don't think you have tapeworms, and there's a way to prove it. Have you ever had undercooked beef, pork or fish?"

Harry's mind began to focus as he stared into her warm brown eyes. She'd asked him a question, beef, pork, and fish. Had he ever had any of it that was undercooked? Thinking back, he couldn't remember a single meal which wasn't burnt, cooked by him, or purposely missing meat all together. And so he finally started breathing normally again, the pain in his side lessening at the same time. "N... No... I don't think so..."

"Then it's my non-existent medical opinion that you're fine, but you should get checked out by Nurse Pomfrey sometime," Hermione stated confidently, though worry was still evident in her eyes. "I think you might have been having a panic attack Harry..."

Harry took a deep breath to stabilize his mind, it was nice that Hermione was worried, but he couldn't let anyone in authority know about the Dursley's. They would take him away and dump him in an orphanage that was worse then the Dursley's ever could manage. He was already risking a lot by telling the other Rebels, but he thought that he could trust them with this secret.

"Th...thank you Hermione, I'm fine now..." Harry answered, as he was allowed to sit up. "We should get to class... don't want to be late on the first day..."

Harry missed, but could feel the looks of concern and worry the others were shooting each other, but he had to keep going like everything was fine. He didn't want to lose what little he had. He just couldn't risk it.

Charms went about as well as DADA had, in that Hermione got Ravenclaw a lot of points for being the first to get the '_Wingardium Leviosa_' spell working right, and then he got it shortly after with only a little coaching from Hermione. Apparently he was slipping a little on the second syllable in '_Leviosa_' but she was helpful in fixing it.

After that feat of magic, the entire class continued levitating feathers, until Harry accidentally knocked his into Terry Boot's who took it as a challenge, and a game of bumper feathers ensued. The room was filled with feathers flitting around over their heads, bumping into each other completely at random. Even Professor Flitwick got into the act.

With all this going on, it was a miracle that Harry remembered to activate the wooden coin in his pocket. But he felt the magic released from it, and wondered what happened.

Their homework was to write a twenty inch essay on the uses of '_Wingardium Leviosa_' in every day life. So far the homework didn't seem too bad, though he wished that Defense Against Dark Arts would have assigned something. That seemed like the class he'd need the most, but he figured that if nothing else, he could use the other classes to cover some of the gaps.

He parted with Hermione, heading for the Great Hall instead of Ravenclaw Tower. For some reason it was oddly devoid of life, in fact, the only other person that Harry could see was Dumbledore standing at the base of the stairwell, smiling up at him with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, might I have a moment of your time?" the grandfatherly headmaster asked when Harry got down to the ground level.

"Err... yes sir, but I'm waiting for Fred..." Harry answered nervously, as he kept a respectful distance away from Dumbledore. For some reason he didn't feel comfortable around him.

"That's fine Mr. Potter..." Albus answered while indicating a more secluded area off the main area. "I just wish to ask you some questions, a few of your teachers have noticed your dietary habits are rather... lacking... is everything alright?"

"Oh, umm... it's just nerves I think..." Harry answered nervously while fidgeting with his bag's shoulder strap, and looking down at the ground. "I'm sure that once I've settled a bit more, I'll be fine sir..."

"I see... well... I should mention I saw you rubbing your scar, is it bothering you?" Dumbledore asked, his voice sounding not fully convinced to Harry's ears. "If you like, I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey would be willing to take a look at it..."

"No... there's no need to trouble her sir... I think I might have bumped it with a brush earlier today... I wasn't used to some of them..." Harry lied with a nervous smile, his grip on his shoulder strap going iron tight as he felt the panic welling up in his chest, more horrors of orphanages flashing through his mind.

"Hmm... Is that so?" Dumbledore answered back, staring at Harry's hand curiously. "The reason I ask is that your scar is an unusual case, as usually the curse used would not have left so much as a mark on you. It could serve as a warning against evil intents against you if it hurt..."

"Oh... well... I.... I did feel it start hurting when I saw Professor Snape staring at me..." Harry admitted quietly while looking down at the ground. "I'm not sure if it was him or something else sir..."

"Well now, that is a different tale Mr. Potter... I highly doubt it was Severus, but I will investigate the matter for anything untoward." Albus stated while stroking his beard in thought. After a moment he reached out and patted Harry on the shoulder reassuringly, making a mental note of the boy's flinching, but choosing not to comment. "We do not want any risks to our students because of failure on my part. Thank you for your time my boy, if you have any more pains, just let Professor Flitwick or myself know, and we can discuss it. Now, I believe Mr. Weasley has arrived..."

Sure enough, when Harry looked, Fred was beaming at him, though there was a little worry crinkling the corners of his eyes. Harry bowed respectfully to Dumbledore, before slipping away and walking over towards Fred. "Did it work?" he asked softly, hoping that his voice wouldn't carry back to Dumbledore. He didn't have too much to worry about, as the headmaster had left the great hall before Harry even got near Fred.

"Yeah mate, it worked beautifully, one of our better pranks. Not nearly as good as last night, but the entire hallway before the Slytherin dorms is now coated with sticking charms, and trapped Slytherin," Fred proclaimed proudly, while also keeping his voice down. "Come on now, let's go... they should be waiting for us."

Harry nodded, and followed Fred as he was lead on a wondering and complex path, until they arrived at a portrait of the Forbidden Forest, which at Fred's touch swung open to reveal a ladder leading upwards. And at the end of that, was a room holding George and Hermione, waiting for them.

Harry swallowed the panic and fear, knowing that they meant him no harm. He'd have to tell them, but he didn't have the foggiest how to start. "Umm... I... I know I called this meeting... and.... I want you to listen to me fully before saying anything, okay?"

To Harry's relief, they nodded quietly, waiting for him to take the initiative. He took a stabilizing breath, before undoing his robes. "There are many beliefs about the Wizarding World, and one that I was raised in was not... favorable..." Harry started, quietly, while loosening his tie. "It started shortly after I was delivered to my Uncle's house, I guess they had to be my only living relatives or something and that they'd raise me with love and care."

"That couldn't have been farther from the truth... I... was in fact starved and beaten for most of my life..." Harry continued, his voice going quieter as he went on. "I... I learned to survive on little more than burnt waste and scraps, if that... I lived in a cupboard usually used for luggage, until I got my letter for Hogwarts, and then I was moved into the smallest bedroom, what had once been Dudley's toy room."

"You..." Harry tried to continue, even as his voice faltered and quaked with fear. "You noticed I was pained on my side earlier today... that... is from a going away present from my cousin..." After that he lifted up his shirt and revealed the bruised area over his ribs. He heard five distinct voices gasping in surprise at that, causing him to look around in a panic, as fear and terror clenched his heart and lungs. "Who... who else is here?"

"I'm sorry Harry..." Hermione answered with tears in her eyes as Dumbledore and maroon and white dressed woman with curly hair appeared in the corner of the room. He could only guess that it was the Madam Pomfrey that everyone had been talking about, especially as she walked over and began looking over the bruise area with a trained eye.

"We knew that something was wrong Mr. Potter, and they were worried about you..." Dumbledore supplied while Madam Pomfrey helped Harry to sit on the floor. "We convinced them to use the old Dueling Club room... and hid because we knew you wouldn't talk to us directly. It was my fault Harry, I hope you can see it to not hold my choice against your friends..."

"Albus..." the nurse spoke up quietly, with a scared tone to her voice. "He's severely malnourished... and there are marks of... other abuses..."

"I see... Mr. Potter, I'm sorry to say... we have to report this to the proper authorities..." the headmaster stated with sad downcast eyes. "Harry? Are you alright?"

All eyes turned to focus on Harry, who had started gasping and wheezing as panic seized his heart and lungs. The last thing he could see was Madam Pomfrey laying him down, before darkness claimed him.


	6. Visitors in the Night

Looking for a beta reader, if interested please PM me. As you can tell I'm not too knowledgeable about the Potter-verse, so a preference to someone that is very knowledgeable to help me catch my goofs.

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"Isss he here?" a serpentine voice hissed out softly, yet loudly enough to rouse Harry from his sleep. The stabbing pain of his scar might have helped that little fact.

"Y...yes master..." A nervous voice answered, which Harry could swear was familiar, but couldn't place it. His mind felt foggy with having just been woken up, and the pain wasn't helping matters. In fact, he couldn't even think of where he was currently. The last thing he remembered was going into a private room with Fred to talk with him, George and Hermione about his home life. But then it became blank.

Harry didn't hear anything more out of them, save for a rustling in one of the cabinets with a lot of clinking of glass wear, possibly potion bottles if he was in the infirmary like the smell suggested. "Thisss potion shhhhould work..." the first voice hissed again, before a cupboard door was shut. "Ressstrain him... we shhhhall end hissss my nemessssiss now..."

Again the quavering voice spoke up quietly while Harry heard footsteps approaching. "Y...yes m...master..." Instead of trying to figure out why that voice sounded familiar, Harry grab the first thing he could to serve as a weapon. He wasn't sure how much good the chamber pot would do, but it might just save his life.

Gathering his legs under him, he blinked when the footsteps stopped and he heard the master's voice again. "Ssssomeone comessss... let ussss depart..."

As the footsteps left, Harry decided it was alright if he dared to breath, and let out the air his lungs had been holding. He relaxed slightly, letting the 'weapon' settle down on the mattress, while looking around the area. He was exposed, and Vernon could get him easily. Wait... that's right... Vernon wasn't around, since he wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near Hogwarts. He was safe from him... but someone else was trying to kill him.

Maybe he should rethink his education path...

A moment later, the door opened, and a pair of footsteps approached. "Mr. Potter?" Harry heard the voice of Albus Dumbledore ask cautiously, while Harry stiffened. "Could you put the chamber pot down? I mean you no harm..."

"Professor? I... I had a nightmare I think... must have been the medicine..." Harry admitted while settling back into the bed, the chamberpot going back to his bedside table. "I mean my scar hurt, but that could have triggered it, because there was a hissing voice that sounded like a half-dead snake being squeezed of air, and some stuttering voice that I couldn't make out quite well..."

"What medicine are you talking about Mr. Potter?" another voice spoke up, causing Harry to notice Madam Pomfrey for the first time. "I haven't given you any, since your bruises were already mostly mended, and the other damage is too old for me, maybe a cosmetic medi-witch or medi-wizard could, but I wanted to talk to you about your time before Hogwarts before I tried Nutrient supplements for your malnourishment, or even attempted to do anything about your panic attack..."

Harry's breath seized up in his chest again, as he realized just what had happened. "B... But... that... that... means... and I..." Harry started, before he found himself gasping for air, his head getting dizzy. He'd really was being attacked by someone who had only left because someone was coming. His attack began weakening as he realized that he was able to respond to the threat. He was ready to defend himself. Focusing on that, he worked himself past the current panic attack, getting his breathing under control he was able to see the worried look on the older teacher's faces. "I was going to fight back..."

"Very good Mr. Potter..." Albus stated with a twinkle in his eye, finding something inside the boy. "It would seem the sorting hat was right... you do have a Gryffindor's courage, and the wisdom of Ravenclaw." At Harry's started look, he patted the boy on the knee. "The sorting hat and your teachers discuss students at the beginning of the year. Now... about those voices hmm? What were they going to do?"

"Uh... they said something about tying me down and forcing me to drink a potion..." Harry explained while shaking his head. After a moment he pointed off to his left, where he'd heard the voices. "I think they were over there... and left shortly before you came..."

"Did they return the potion to the cupboard?" Albus asked curiously, while Madam Pomfrey went over to take inventory.

"I don't think so sir... W...why were they after me sir? I... I just want to live my life..." Harry admitted, while hugging the knee on his good side to his chest, revealing just how small he truly was.

Albus took a moment looking at the boy to think his words through before reaching over and rubbing his shoulder. "I'm sad to say Harry, that when evil is defeated, it is often only weakened... but with enough training, I'm certain you and your friends can overcome it..."

"Albus... it's the Shrinking Solution..." Madam Pomfrey stated when she arrived at Dumbledore's side. "With as much as he took..."

The grave looks on the adults' faces told Harry just how close he'd come to being shrunk to death. Going to a school far, far, faaaaaar away from Great Britain was looking all the more promising every second. Maybe it would have been better if he never left the cupboard under the stairs, at least there he didn't have psychos out to kill him. But he'd have never met Hermione... or the Twins, he reminded himself. And it was pretty awesome being at school so far, save for the panic attacks, the psychos out to kill him for something he had no control over, and professors that glared at him for no apparent reasons.

What was the number of that school in Australia again? Maybe he could even pay for Hermione... and the twins... to go with him.

"Professor? Would it be alright if I get something to eat? I think I missed dinner..." Harry asked, trying to lighten the oppressive mood. "Just some plain oatmeal or something..."

"Poppy?" Albus asked, deferring to the medi-witch. He agreed that the boy should eat something if he was hungry, he was already far too thin, but she would know better what he needed.

"Let me finish examining him first, and he'll probably need a nutrient supplement with his meal, but oatmeal should be fine... a slightly smaller bowl than normal if you don't mind..." Madam Pomfrey answered while weaving her wand over Harry's body. "Now let's see... hmm... your magical reserves have done a good job to keep you alive this far Mr. Potter. It seems that if you stick to the nutrient supplement potions I'll provide you for supper, you should recover enough to eat properly at the Christmas Feast. Try to avoid fatty or greasy foods, and don't overeat."

"Yes ma'am..." Harry answered nervously under her glare. "Uh... wh...what's going to happen to me?"

"Well the nutrient potions will help jump start your body's re-adaptation of absorbing nutrients from food," Madam Pomfrey started, while summoning a chart from her office. "Let me explain..."

"Sorry ma'am, I meant more... What happens now that... you know..." Harry explained while indicating his still bruised side. "I... I don't want to go to an orphanage..."

Dumbledore frowned and stroked his beard in thought, he'd feared Harry would ask about this. But had hoped he'd have waited a little longer before asking. "Your care takers will be prosecuted, however, we will do our best to keep your name out of the public media releases. But I fear that it will not do much good..."

"I see... then..." Harry started looking down at his hands nervously. "If I can't go back to Privet Drive... then... what..."

"Oh, you have a year to plan that my boy," Albus spoke up, trying to get Harry to not focus on the dark thoughts building inside of him. "I... I do have to apologize, I had someone watching you, but they never reported your mistreatment... I will have to investigate the matter with Mrs. Figg as soon as possible..."

"Mrs. Figg? The crazy lady with her cats?" Harry asked in shock, before the pieces fell into place. "But if she was a witch, why didn't she help me out? If she was watching me, she should have known how the Dursley's treated me and... well she did feed me, and I was safe there... if bored..."

"And I fear that the reason is easy enough for you to figure out Mr. Potter..." Albus answered, while stroking his beard.

Harry paused to think on the matter for a moment, putting it into proper context. After only a moment of thought, he had his answer. "If they'd thought I was having fun while there, they'd never have let me come back..."

A nod from the headmaster, confirmed Harry's logic, just in time for him to get a potion that reminded him faintly of baby vomit after it had eaten strained peas, experience had taught him nothing good came with that color, and he had a feeling from the smell, that particular truth would hold true once again. "Go on now Mr. Potter, drink it all gone."

Deciding that the best course of action would be to drink it as fast as possible, he let out a breath and began gulping down the vile concoction. After the initial gag reflex had passed, he noticed that there was just the faintest hint of rancid milk to the flavor. Oh yeah, the next few months were going to be a real treat, weren't they?

The sudden stop of fluids from the bottle came as a surprise to him, as did the smell that greeted him when the vile mix had vanished. He'd never known that plain oatmeal could smell so wonderfully, nor that the taste could possibly be so magical as to make him want to weep and cry out to the heavens in praise and thanksgiving. Or maybe it was just that potion was that nasty.

Either way he savored the miraculous sensation of eating oatmeal, until after a mere ten minutes of nearly heavenly bliss, he passed out into his bowl of oatmeal. "Oh, I should have warned him about how tired that potion makes one..." Poppy offered with a sigh as she plucked the sickly Ravenclaw out of his oatmeal and used a simple spell to clean him off.

"I'm sure he's aware of this Poppy..." Albus stated calmly while tucking the boy in. "Please make sure to wake him early enough that you can check him out in time to get to class if he wants. I won't force him... but it may be best he does not dwell on matters..."

The matron of the healing arts nodded her head calmly while she finished cleaning up the area. "Of course Albus..." After a moment she stood up and began escorting the headmaster out the door. "I don't mean to pry Albus... but what will be happening now?"

"I will contact Mrs. Figg's contact to me about the matter with Mr. Potter's treatment at the hands of his relatives, and talk to Mrs. Figg herself about the matter. Mr. Potter will remain in Hogwarts' protective care until this summer, where I am uncertain of what will happen..." Age seemed to be crushing every fiber of his being as he looked wearily at the glass pane of the door into Hogwarts proper. "His aunt and cousin will most likely be brought up on charges in a muggle court, while Vernon Dursley will be dealt with in Wizarding Court, unless the Goblins wish to take the case, being as they witnessed the good faith agreement..."

Letting out a heavy, bone tired sigh, the old man continued. "I should have known when we had so much difficulties in regards to his letter, but I did nothing Poppy. Oh, and as for his visitors... I am sorry, but I will have to seal the medical wing for the night... would you prefer inside or out?"

"Inside Albus, he should not be alone..." Poppy answered as they parted at the door. "Never in my life have I ever wished to cause harm to someone Albus... but..."

"I understand Poppy..." Albus assured her as he patted a shoulder lightly. His eyes grew distant and sad, as though remembering something from the distant past. "I apologize for the being the cause of all this..."

"Albus... you couldn't have possibly known..." Poppy answered rubbing the side of his cheek. "You should take a vacation sometime... maybe find a nice guy and..."

"Not while he still hurts others I can't Poppy, you know that, but I will consider it," Albus assured her gently. Once the medical ward was sealed, he went to his office, and began sorting through the files regarding Harry over the years. All the reports were signed by one Miss Prewitt, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember the woman's face. So instead he made a note to floo-call Mrs. Figg tomorrow.


	7. Something's Brewing, and Potions Class

The following morning, found one Harry Potter trudging back to the Ravenclaw tower while being escorted by Madam Pomfrey. He'd been thinking a lot about things since he'd woken up in the infirmary after his oatmeal nap. Hermione and the twins had betrayed his trust, but possibly saved his life. One side of his brain wanted to be angry at them for betraying his trust, a more logical part stated that they did what they thought was best, a baser part wanted breakfast now dammit, another part wanted to talk with Hermione alone over a candlelit dinner to discuss what had happened, one more worried about what those voices had meant while he was in the infirmary, yet another which sounded smaller than the rest wanted to slaughter all those that had wronged him, and the last part was confused and wanted to know just how many parts to his mind there was.

All his mental debating was ended when he entered the Ravenclaw common room and found Hermione curled up in one of the chairs, turned to face the door, while the twins camped out on couches, also angled to watch the entry. They were worried about him, and wanted to see him as soon as he came in. He highly doubted they'd meant to spend the night, as they were all fully dressed from yesterday, but it was still wonderful.

Harry felt a pulling in his chest to go over, and hug Hermione while catching a few more hours of rest, as it was still only five in the morning. But he knew that wouldn't be very proper, what with her being asleep and all. Besides Madam Pomfrey was standing right next to him, with a slight smirk on her face. "It seems your four friends were worried about you Mr. Potter..."

Four? Harry asked mentally, before looking up to see that Rowena Ravenclaw was smiling tiredly down at him and waving, while putting a finger to her lips. He understood, and gave her a simple nod of agreement. Settling down on one of the open chairs, he bid Madam Pomfrey a good day, and chose to watch his friends instead of waking them.

As he watched his friends, he found his eyes focusing on the female member. There was something about her that made him want to be next to her, to talk to her, to hold her. He couldn't understand it, but even the part that demanded he be outraged about the betrayal of her and the twins quieted upon seeing her sleeping peacefully, her lips parted slightly, while some loose strands of her hair, freed from their bun, swirled down in front of her face. Even the way it danced with her every breath amazed Harry.

"Very good, you've noticed how cute she is..." a voice whispered, causing Harry to nod slowly in agreement, his eyes never leaving the slumbering form of his first friend.

"Why don't you go over an snuggle up with her?" another voice asked, and Harry really couldn't fault it, even as he levered himself off the chair, and took a step forward. As soon as his foot landed, he realized something wasn't right, since when had he heard the twins in his mind? Turning around he realized exactly why he was hearing it. The twins had been whispering in his ears, and remained behind the chair he'd sat in with huge grins on their faces. "Well mate, seems you've got your first crush..."

"I... I was j...just getting her a blanket..." Harry answered nervously, while his mind tried to make up a plausible story. Instead of buying it, the twins just sighed rather dramatically.

"See this George? We try to be good parents, and already our dear little first years are lying to us..." Fred bemoaned quietly while George patted his back gently.

"I see it Fred, I see it, but I'm sure that he'll tell us the truth..." George assured his brother while looking at Harry meaningfully.

The black haired boy slumped in defeat and blushed heavily. "Look guys... could... could we not tell Hermione about this? I mean... we're young yet, and it might just be a stupid, silly crush... I don't want to risk our friendship over it..."

"Sure mate... but just remember, you're both smart enough to be Ravenclaw..." George started, walking over and looping an arm over Harry's shoulder.

"And smart enough to keep a friendship while dating, and after..." Fred added while taking Harry's other side, and the pair began escorting him to the guy's stairs. "Now let's go get ready for the day, we'll let her sleep a little more."

None of the trio saw Hermione pop open an eye, nor the small, warm smile that spread over her lips. Harry wasn't angry with her, and it seemed like the friends were back on track. The relationship part added an interesting piece to the puzzle, but she couldn't help but admit, she was flattered. Of course they were far too young to do anything, but it was nice to be noticed as a potential romantic partner. Though the trio of males missed the awakening of their female friend, Rowena didn't and already her inner matchmaker was singing for joy.

Later that day, Harry sat next to Hermione reading his text book quietly while waiting for Potions Class to start. She'd been by his side for most of the day, but something was different, she'd constantly blush, and talked about something new they'd learned yesterday, or earlier. But mostly she seemed anxious about something.

He felt that it would be best to arrive early, and set up their potion supplies, so they'd finished lunch early and made their way down to the dungeons, missing Ron ordering enough food to feed a family of four for all three meals of a day. In fact, if they'd looked around as they walked out, they were the forerunners of a mass exodus to be anywhere but around the glutton.

As the rest of their classmates showed up, Harry marked his place in the book with a bit of paper off one of his scrolls, and set it down to watch for the professor. It was at that moment his eyes met with one Severus Snape.

From across the dim lights of the potions dungeon, the dark black of his eyes reflected a torch burning in a nearby sconce while he sneered at the assembling crowd of first year Ravenclaws. And then his eyes met Harry's, and he smiled faintly for some reason. At the appointed moment he slammed shut his door, gaining the attention of everyone else and stormed into the room. "Alright class, put away your wands, you shan't be needing them. There'll be no wand waving, instead I shall endeavor to train you to passably brew a potion. But don't you dare look down on the subtle art that is potion making."

Snape whipped around towards the class, holding up a bottled potion in his hand, looking into it as though it held the very answers of the universe itself. "If you are good enough, I can teach you to bottle life, put a stopper to death, and to brew the very essence of fame," Snape stated calmly while lowering the bottle to his desk. "Potter! I noticed that you were reading up on the subject, so I felt you may be ready for some questions..."

"I... I'll try my best sir..." Harry answered nervously, after standing abruptly at being called on.

"So our resident celebrity doesn't think he knows everything, hmm? At least I see you know enough to have the proper equipment out..." Snape commented coldly while glaring at the boy. "Let's start off with an easy one, what are the differences between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

"Err... aren't they, and aconite the same sir?" Harry asked, unsure of the answer. He'd remembered reading about the plants, but couldn't remember exactly whether or not he was right. The pleased smirk on Snape's face surprised him, filling him with dread.

"That's right Mr. Potter, I see that you did some studying after all..." Snape purred softly, sending chills down Harry's back. "Now, for a more difficult question. What is the primary uses of Dittany?"

Harry's mind flashed back to the odd yellowish plant, and the uses for it, starting to sweat a little as he panicked, that he might be forgetting one. "That's.... that's for healing scars by stretching skin over a wound... and... the Wiggenweld potion sir?" Harry managed after struggling to remember what else he'd read it was for.

Again Snape smirked, causing Harry to sweat nervously at having forgotten, he really wanted to sit down now, and hide away behind his cauldrons. Or at least let someone else take some of these questions. "Well done Mister Potter, well done indeed, it should also be noted that it releases flammable vapors, so should only be cultivated with care. Final Question: What two potions use the Shrivelfig as an ingredient?"

"Shr...shrinking solution and..." Harry started, before he began panicking again. His mind was going completely blank about the second potion. He remembered reading about it, but when he tried to read the potion instructions his head began swimming. "And the... elixir... of..." Harry continued, trying to put in the last word. Just as he began to feel the hand of terror squeezing his heart again, another hand held his, and a calm washed over him. The words he'd been searching for came with ease now. "Induced Euphoria sir."

"Impressive Mr. Potter, it would seem that the intelligence of Ravenclaw is being upheld again..." Snape answered while he turned away and summoned words to the chalk board at the front of the classroom. "I expect much out of Ravenclaws, and this year, I shall expect even more than usual. Fifty points to Ravenclaw for the correct answers. Now class copy the recipe and notes on the board, and I do hope you took notes on what Mr. Potter stated, for it will be on the mid-year exams."

Harry finally allowed his legs to give out, and slumped gratefully into his chair. After a moment to catch his breath, he looked down at his right hand, and smiled, seeing the small hand still holding his. Following it back up, he found his first friend smiling warmly back at him. After a handful of eternities, Hermione released his hand and pointed to the board. Harry picked up his quill and began to scribble down his notes as quickly as possible. He never questioned for a moment why his cheeks felt so warm, nor why his heart was thundering in his ears.

Thankfully his heart had gotten out of his head, and down into his chest where it belonged in time for him to hear Snape assign a foot and a half essay on the proper cauldron cleaning and maintenance, without using any spells, or as Snape so eloquently put it. "And there better not be any mention of that silly wand waving you children think of as spells... Or you will fail."

Having spent years scouring the pots and pans of his Uncle's house, Harry actually felt fairly confident that he'd be able to provide a good amount of the book without needing to look in his book, but just in case, he'd planned to read the care instructions again before writing the essay. On top of that, they had a Transfiguration essay on turning matches to needles and back due which he felt would be best to get done with early on. In fact, he should probably finish up the homework he didn't get done yesterday during lunch, due to his panic attack while he was at it. But he figured he could do that on Wednesday, since they had a half-day, with History of Magic in the morning, and a free period in the afternoon.

Supper was a delicious affair of dry toast, grilled chicken breast meat, and steamed broccoli, which Madam Pomfry had ordered for him. Even if it was more than he'd have normally eaten, it was nice to have someone watching out for him. True he'd have one of those god-awful, nauseating, vile potions from hell waiting for him in his room when he went to bed, but he knew she did it because she cared for his health. Which was honestly more than any adult he'd met before had ever done.

He was just about to have the granola bar that had appeared for his dessert when Draco Malfoy decided to make his entrance. Bless him though he tried, Crabbe and Goyle really put their hearts and souls into blaring out a fanfare on those trumpets, especially while marching in carrying a coach holding Draco Malfoy on it. So it was very understandable that they caused an ear sodomy worst than any one could imagine, and that they missed the furl in the carpet that sent them sprawling, and Draco flying into a large helping of Yorkshire pudding.

Understandable if you didn't happen to be the headmaster, who had made a rule to prevent such displays. And if you hadn't just spent the day finding out that one of your greatest projects for the greater good of the Wizarding World had actually been for naught, as the blood wards that you had thought would protect the boy and by extension his family weren't worth the non-existent paper they'd been printed on. Add to that the fact that he couldn't find any trace of this M. Prewitt that had signed off on all the reports of Harry being a happy healthy lad, and one could understand why when one blonde haired pureblood ponce face-planted in his Yorkshire pudding he reacting in such a calm and rational manner. "Mr. Malfoy... I do hope that you were merely worried about my health and threw yourself on my pudding in a sacrificial manner to save me..."

While said Slytherin prince tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for why he was currently wearing the headmaster's pudding as rather thick facial makeup. After a few minutes of floundering with nothing, he hung his head, and awaited his punishment. "Three hundred points from Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle for their part in this, and from Mr. Malfoy... Six hundred points, and a week of detention."

Now many of the student body thought this was harsh, as the kindly grandfather of a headmaster rarely, if ever took points, preferring to allow the teachers to monitor their students. The rest were shocked at the sheer load of points stripped away from Slytherin in one fell swoop. A total of twelve hundred points, which knocked them out of the first place they'd been holding, and into third place, under Hufflepuff and Gryffindor who were tied for first currently, and just a mere fifty points above Ravenclaw.

The teachers however knew of the man's fondness of Yorkshire pudding, and that he'd been in a bad mood all day. In fact, it was only Professor Quirrel who was shocked, due to the fact that he was new, and thus never learned the folly of getting between Dumbledore and his pudding.

Said pudding was replaced a moment later by some house elves, and the meal continued, with Draco storming out in a huff, mumbling something about writing to his father about this. Not that anyone believed it would do any good, after all, even if the man was the Minster of Magic, Draco had been the one at fault.

There was one student in the hall with a knowing smirk, while everyone whispered about the incident. They had been the one to set the bulge in the carpet that snagged Crabbe's foot, and sent the lot of them sprawling. They had just gotten away with knocking the haughty Slytherin out of first place, and into the basement. And best of all, they'd made it look like it was all Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle's fault.

Harry slipped his wand back into his pocket under the table, looking around slightly to see if anyone noticed his smirk or actions. But they were all busy eating and talking. The Twins might be the pranksters, and Hermione may be the brains, but he felt he just found his niche in the Rebels... He would be the quiet one.

Finishing his pumpkin juice, which he wondered why it was so sweet briefly, he slid out from the table. "I'm sorry to eat and run like this... but I want to try and finish two of my essays before bed..."

"Hold on Harry, I'll come with you," Hermione offered, pushing back her empty plate and taking a quick gulp of what looked to be orange juice. Shrugging, he started walking around the end of the table, and met her on the far side. Together they walked out of the great hall, heading along the winding path to the Ravenclaw tower.

Once inside the common room, they separated, still in silence, to get their homework. They sat down in two chairs in front of the fireplace, and set to work on their homework. About two hours later, they had their potions essays done, completed the rest of their DADA essays, and were just about finished touching up their Transfiguration essays, when the twins entered, and raised a silencing ward around them, including Rowena by design.

"Lady Rowena, you'll never believe what happened in the Great Hall!" George burst out with a huge grin on his face. "Slytherin were knocked out of top place by Malfoy's lot tripping over a furl in the carpet and ruining the headmaster's dessert!"

"Really? How odd... that carpet has a charm on it to lay it smooth after a couple minutes... so it had to bunch up right before the person tripped..." Rowena stated with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Oh but Helga is going to be beaming about her darling Hufflepuffs being in first place, even if it's a tie..."

"We didn't do it..." Fred and George answered together, before turning slowly towards Hermione and Harry, both of whom were rolling up their scrolls. After they were stored away, the two first years looked at each other with just a little too much confusion and innocence in their eyes. Like two children caught with their faces covered in chocolate chip cookie crumbs and an empty cookie jar between them.

"Alright, which of you two did it..." Rowena asked, reading through their smiles with the ease of one who wore that look far too often. "We won't tell, but we do want to know who to praise..."

"Well... I did hear someone muttering '_Wingardium Leviosa_' at our table, but I couldn't say who..." Hermione answered vaguely while looking unflinchingly at the portrait of Rowena. "Besides, since they did it in secret, perhaps they wish for it to remain such..."

With that Harry knew he'd been busted, and saved by Hermione. Especially when the predatory grins spreading across the Twin's faces locked on her directly. "So... it was a first year's spell, that I'm sure only our resident genius could cast with such mastery so soon after learning it..." Fred commented while stroking his chin.

"Ah but Fred, why not just claim it? Could it be that she is covering for the true prankster?" George answered while turning his eyes towards Harry who was flipping through his History of Magic text, trying to get a jump on tomorrow's lesson. "Harry m'boy... I noticed you've been quiet in this meeting of the Rebels..."

"Nothing to add George..." Harry answered quickly, trying to keep up Hermione's little charade. After all, he didn't want to be the center of attention too long. "We both came from Potions, remember? Why would I take it there?"

"That's true Fred," George admitted with a sigh. "Such a pity though, Hermione has two pranks to our one... and Harry our dear boy has none... I don't know if he is Rebel material..."

"Give him time George, I'm sure he'll surprise us..." Fred assured his twin while patting him on the shoulder lightly. "Come, we have an essay to write..."

After they lowered the silencing ward and walked away, Harry smirked as he looked to Hermione. A nod later and the two of them drew their wands, pointed at the twin's feet and whispered "_Wingardium Leviosa_" with the proper swish and flick. Just as the twins took a step, a lace on each of their shoes undid itself and landed right where the other foot was landing. With the next step, they were sent sprawling to the ground.

A quick hiding of the wands later, Hermione and Harry were by their sides, helping them up. "Are you two alright?"

Fred and George looked to their protege, and then at each other before letting out a laugh. "They got us..."

"and good... but which got Draco?"

"Oh, it was Harry," Hermione stated in a matter-of-fact manner, which was covered up by the laughter of a few people in the room. She smiled and leaned in to whisper in their ears. "Let's chalk that up for the Rebels, and not keep score amongst ourselves, shall we?"

"Right, Rebels for Rebels, we're out to deflate egos, and stomp prats into the ground," Harry added with a smirk of his own. "Also, let me be the quiet member of the group... I think me being the public good boy would help us pull some of our stunts off..."

"That will only work for a little while Harry... but you're right, that will be a useful role..." Hermione agreed while helping Fred stand, George getting a hand up from Harry. "And if we keep adding first years as we go..."

"A fresh good kid every year..." Fred answered as it sunk in, an awed look on his face. George on the other hand looked more like Hermione being given a book for her birthday, or Ron being set down in front of some food.

"Now... I have a prank for Ron..." Harry started, before pointing over to the table. "Meet us there in two hours, when this place clears out, and I'll tell you it."

"Sounds good mate," the twins agreed before turning away.

"Oh, before you go... how do I check out books from the shelves over there?" Harry asked, pointing at the ones beside the door. "No tricks, please."

"You just take one, and read it. Just don't take it off campus, or Lady Rowena will get mad..." Fred explained with a shrug.

"You don't want to mess with her books either..." George continued, getting an ashen face that almost matched his brothers's. Apparently one didn't want to make the smartest witch ever, and the founder of the Ravenclaw Rebels mad by messing with one of her books.

Gee, who'd have seen that coming?


	8. The House of Exposition, now serving tea

Still looking for a beta reader, any volunteers are asked to please PM me.  


* * *

During breakfast on Wednesday morning, Harry got a letter inviting him and his friend(s) to come down to Hagrid's hut in the afternoon. And with their essays done for the next week, they figured it couldn't hurt to be social. They'd just make sure to leave plenty of time to complete any homework Professor Binns assigned in History of Magic.

Five minutes into class, two students were still awake. The first was Hermione Granger, alert and taking notes, the other was one Harry Potter, who was only awake because he couldn't slump over to sleep without his side causing him pain. So he was taking notes as well, up until he noticed something curious about the ghostly professor. '_Hermione,_' Harry scribbled on a scrape piece of parchment, '_He's just reading it from the book, isn't he?_'

Hermione looked at the note briefly, and during a pause while Binns settled down to appear sitting on his desk. A confused look crossed Hermione's face for a moment before she looked at her book, and blinked slowly. She wrote down a few more notes, her eyes glued to the book, before answering Harry's question. '_Yes he is... and I can see why the twins are able to skip without too much trouble..._'

Harry blinked slowly as he read those words, wondering just when the temperature in Hell hit zero and kept plummeting. Was that Hermione Granger, whom he'd learned to be one of the most straight-laced students ever, admitting that the twins ditching class was justified?

One glare from the corner of Hermione's eye had Harry ready to lay on his back, presenting her his tender underbelly in submission. The twins were not justified, skipping classes was bad, this would be on the test. Please don't kill me ma'am.

Deciding that it would be easier to stay awake if he focused on taking notes from the book, instead of trying to stay awake through the dull, flat, voice of the ghost reading the entire textbook from memory. If he was going to be forced to sit through this class for the next six years he'd have to learn to either smuggle in some of those novels from the common room, a deck of muggle cards, or plot out some pranks. The rest of the three hours was filled with the snoring of classmates, scribbling of two people taking notes, and the driest, flattest, and most boring voice ever conceived.

"And for your homework, please do an essay of no less than ten inches on a prominent figure during the Goblin wars," Binns concluded, writing it on the board as he went, before disappearing out the classroom walls.

Hermione and Harry packed up their supplies, waking the nearest classmates politely with a firm, yet not too hard shake of their shoulders. As the others gathered their supplies and woke their neighbors, Harry and Hermione exited, and went for lunch. They didn't have long to wait for the twins, who were smiling widely. Almost as if they expected victory to be handed to them upon a polished silver platter, Hermione just sat there smiling warmly at the twins. Harry ordered the roast chicken meal that Madam Pomfrey had suggested he try when he was up to it.

"Well Harry, Hermione... shall we start making Christmas plans? What would be appropriate to get your father and mother?" Fred asked, while he claimed the seat opposite Harry, George taking the one across from Hermione.

Hermione smiled and shook her head slowly, sending a loose strand of hair rippling through the air, almost like that one gymnast event with the ribbons. Some dark, undeveloped part of Harry's brain perked up for a moment, sending an image of Hermione in one of those skin tight uniforms before curling up to go back to sleep for another few years. Hey, what did you expect from a ten-year-old shut-in boy with an entire world he knows nothing about expecting him to be some sort of great hero?

. . . Your should be ashamed for thinking that! Seriously, I should write to your mother and tell her what you're thinking. In the corner with you!

"No you two," Hermione answered, cutting through Harry's daydreams like Gryffindor's sword through a basilisk's mind. "You have lost. I have no intentions of missing a single day of History of Magic."

Harry looked at the twins, and saw their jaws hanging open, while their eyes were nearly bugging out of their skulls. "But... but... that means..."

"Perfect attendance, and double homework from Binns for the rest of the year," Hermione confirmed with a winning smirk. Harry couldn't help but join in the feeling of winning, since he suspected there was more to this than what Hermione was saying right now.

Sure enough, her smirk turned downright devious as she leaned in against the table. "After all, what better alibi then being in the class that you're supposed to be in?"

If Harry had a year free of the Dursley's when he was younger, he would have traded the entire year for this one day. Seeing Hermione's devious smirk, while the twins looked at her aghast. And then the logic began sinking in. If they set up pranks, and triggered them while they were in class, much the same way as Harry did with the wooden coin, they could pull any number of pranks without getting caught. "But of course, we will need to keep up some outside of our class times, to keep up the Rebel's reputation."

"Fred mate..." George started while bowing his head. "We have been out maneuvered by a natural prankster..."

"Indeed George..." Fred agreed, also bowing his head in submission to Hermione's genius. "Harmony, Herry, we are humbled by your addition."

Harry looked around, just to be sure no one was listening, before leaning in to the table. He was mentally trying to figure out which of one was which, instead of asking, he spoke in a soft voice, so as to not let it carry. "Guys, he reads from the text book, if you take notes from that beforehand, couldn't we use the class-time to plot as well as trigger? And should we really be talking about this while we're in public?"

"Good point mate... too exposed, but if we use a silencing hex, someone'll know we're plotting something," Fred answered between bites of his sandwich. "So, while we're suffering in History of Magic this afternoon, what do you two have planned?"

"Visiting Hagrid, and doing our homework..." Harry answered, to which Hermione nodded just a bit too fast for it to be just that.

"Right, gotcha..." George replied with a knowing look. "We'll catch up with you in the common rooms later today then."

After some more light conversation that had nothing to do at all with pranks, but rather a fascinating device in the muggle world they'd heard of called a television. After explaining that it in a manner similar to the talking portraits, but in fictional scenes, a multitude of characters, a muggle version of the wizarding camera which captured sound as well, and multiple viewing areas, the twins were thoroughly and utterly enthralled. That wasn't to say they weren't still confused about some parts, but they were very much curious about the nature of the television.

The Rebels parted company about the same time as the resident Gryffindor glutton arrived. In fact, they were among the first students done with their meals. And as such, enjoyed the benefit of a nearly empty hall while eating. Harry and Hermione made their way outside, and down to the hut Hagrid had indicated as his.

Kind of easy to spot as it was the only hut on the grounds, but let's leave that for another time. Instead, we'll follow Harry and Hermione into the wonderful house of exposi... err I mean Hagrid's hut. Before they got to the door, a mammoth dog looked up at them and yawned tiredly. "That's Fang, best little pup I ever raised. How are you Harry, and who's yer friend?"

"This is Hermione... we met on the train, and got into Ravenclaw together..." Harry explained with a wave to indicate his friend. Looking around the hut, he had to admit that he liked the look of the hut. It had a cozy, and comfortable feel to it. After a moment he noticed a curious paper placed on the table where Hagrid had been sitting. It mentioned that Gringotts had been robbed on the same day that he had visited, and Hagrid had removed whatever it was from that vault 513.

"Oh yeah, I remember you sittin' next to 'er on the boats... funny I thought youda been wit' Ms. Prewitt's son..." Hagrid mused while filling a couple cups of tea. "Nice lady that Ms. Prewitt, has Dumbledore's ear on important matters she does... but let's talk about you two, I've heard about you Hermione. Brightest witch of yer age so far, and Harry's not far behind in grades thanks to yer."

"Oh," Hermione exclaimed while a blush darkened her cheeks, "umm... thank you... I didn't know I was being noticed..."

Harry for his part, smiled and patted her on the shoulder gently. "I told you I'd have never gotten the _Wingadium Leviosa _charm without your help, remember?" he offered, trying to point out just how much of a help she'd been for this first week. "And just think, if they're saying that in the first week, imagine what they'd do by your seventh year. Why I bet you'd have people begging for you to consider working for them."

"Yer a good one Hermione, remember that," Hagrid answered while setting out the cups of tea. I take it yer settlin' in well?" At their nods he sipped some tea and sighed. "Look Harry, I wanted ter apologize fer takin' you to those Dursley's... but they were the only ones that would work on account of that thar blood protection of yers..."

"That's... fine Hagrid..." Harry answered nervously, trying desperately not to look at Hermione, as she watched him with worry evident in her eyes. "It's fine Hagrid... nothing you could have done..."

"Aye, and to think that Prewitt said they were perfectly lovely muggles... makes me sick it does," Hagrid grumbled while pulling out a tin of crumpets, offering some to Harry and Hermione. Both of which politely declined. "But enough about the past, ave ye two begun making plans fer yer free days? If'n yer free, I dunna mind yer stoppin' by."

"We'd be glad to Hagrid, it's nice to get out of the castle once in a while..." Hermione answered for them with a bright smile. "I'm afraid I have to be going... I want to get my essay done as soon as possible, so I don't have to rush through it..."

"I should join her, it's better to get these things done early you know..." Harry added, picking up on the subtle hint that Hermione was making for them to talk privately. "When we want to visit, we'll talk to Professor Flitwick first, just so we don't get you into trouble..."

"Right, good thinking yer two," Hagrid agreed with a big grin on his face. "I'll also be lettin' him know when I go inter Hogsmeade, just so you don't come when I'm away."

After an exchange of pleasantries, the two first years made their way out of the hut, and began to slowly walk the path back to the castle. About halfway there, Hermione spoke up. "This Prewitt woman... she's the one that put you with those horrid Dursley's..."

"I'm sure she didn't look much beyond that blood protection Hermione, let's just see if we can find her son, and see what type of kid he is before we decide she's evil incarnate..." Harry offered as a compromise, while running through the list of kids he'd met or heard the last names of. With everyone being called Mr. or Miss whatever, the list was rather extensive. But to his knowledge he'd never heard of the Prewitt family. "Maybe we could check with the twins about them... it could be a kid older than us..."

"Yeah... but they have a few hours to class, let's get started on that essay, and we can discuss it while we work."

Harry couldn't fault her logic, and together they made their winding way up to the Ravenclaw entrance. Curiously enough, the common room was completely empty of life, even Rowena's portrait was empty save for a sign saying "_Back in a Minute_"

"Well... looks like we'll be able to do our work in peace at least..." Harry offered as he claimed on of the seats at the table nearest the window. Pulling out his quill, parchment, and tome, he sighed and dug around for an inkwell. "Why couldn't we just use pens and paper?"

"And lose the mystical charm of writing with quills?" Hermione asked in a miffed tone as she sharpened the tip of her quill that had broken off in the bag. "I'm starting to wonder if that Pureblood conspiracy thing isn't real..."

"It would explain a lot of things... " Harry muttered as he popped open his inkwell and set it down next to a blotter and scrap parchment. He also placed the rag he used to clean up the ink tip next to the well, for easy use between the two of them. "I mean, sure we've seen it with the brooms, the class lists, the exchange rate between the galleon and the pound, the quills..."

"The tricks to even get to the school in the first place, the changing stairs, the restriction on muggle technology used, even a lot of the terms used..." Hermione countered as she flipped open a book. "I mean, it does give the Wizarding World a mystical, magical feel to it... but it also alienates muggles."

"So, who do you think you'll do your essay on? I was thinking Ugnot the Unruly..." Harry switched conversation tracks when they heard noises coming down the stairs. "Or maybe Urg the Unclean..." he continued, actually picking a goblin from his book. "Or maybe Wanko the Wizarding Wonder..."

Silently he mouthed, '_What's with the names?_' to Hermione, drawing a smile from his friend. But she kept the mirth from her voice as she looked through her book, actually sounding mystified. "I don't know Harry... I'm sure that everyone will take those famous ones... We could get bonus credit for looking up some of the rarer ones..."

"How about us founders?" Rowena asked curiously as she tossed the sign out of her painting, and straightened up her dress. "We were in the goblin wars... in fact we fought them before we founded Hogwarts..."

Their quills seemed to fly over the page after that, with Rowena filling in on little facts to support those in the books, and just telling the two young students many stories that they probably shouldn't be hearing about the founders of the school. For example, Slytherin's famous cunning, was made all the more apparent when he was gallivanting around, womanizing the country-side. Or that the fierce, brave, and courageous Godric Gryffindor couldn't even sip something as alcoholic as Butter Beer, without passing out, or possibly that he was afraid of spiders.

After the essays were finished, and left to dry in the sunshine, Harry and Hermione switched over to the more comfortable stuffed chairs by the fireplace, and Rowena looked down at them with a warm smile. "You little dears... thank you for letting me relive some happier times..."

"It was our pleasure Lady Rowena," Hermione answered with a smile on her face. "So much to know... I hope my essay on you will get a good grade..."

"I just hope that the Hufflepuff house doesn't mind me doing an essay on their founder..." Harry mused while looking out the window. After a minute, his eyes turned serious as something struck him. "Ya know Hermione... we should should say thank you to those house elves more..."

"What do you mean Harry?" Rowena asked before Hermione could, though both women seemed to have the same curious look to their faces.

"I mean we're polite when they do us special favors like the book retrieving, and at lunch... but I'm sure they do much more... and I just think it would be nice to let them know we're thinking of them. Maybe get them some flowers for Christmas... rare ones that don't grow around here..." Harry explained quietly, his eyes distant, yet reflecting something internal instead of the distant sunset he appeared to be gazing at.

"That's a good idea Harry," Hermione agreed, her eyes focused on the boy she'd knew had the beginnings of a crush on her, and couldn't exactly claim she didn't feel similarly. "I mean I'm sure they do our laundry, and clean up for us... And it couldn't hurt to be nice to them if they're doing so much for us. I think that the Wizards will pay for how they treat the House Elves... let's set a better example."

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Rowena gushed down at them with a beaming smile and twinkling eyes. "Oh, but dear Helga would have simply adored the two of you. She always felt that the house elves needed our respect."

Hermione and Harry blushed slightly, and settled back into their silent musings. This time Harry's face was much more simple and relaxed, while Hermione's turned more curious as she sat there thinking. The crackling of the fire was the only noise, as the others probably spent the free afternoon recovering from History of Magic by playing outside, or researching in the library. The silence was broken finally by Hermione asking, "Harry... would you like to come over for Christmas if my parents okay it? I mean I know the twins would like to come... but..."

"I'd love it Hermione... if... if they'd have me..." Harry answered, going from startled and pleased, to shy and insecure in the matter of a heartbeat. "And I suppose we would have to check with Professor Dumbledore..."

"Oh, I'm sure it would be fine Harry..." Hermione reassured her friend while she levered herself out of the chair she'd been in and settled in next to Harry. Her arm looped gently over his shoulders and she squeezed ever so softly. At first he stiffened, almost as though fearing it would hurt, before his entire body relaxed and his head drooped down onto Hermione's shoulder.

For Harry this was something new. Human contact without pain and suffering, but contact that just made him feel warm, wanted, and safe. His eyes slid close slowly in the tender hold, letting a happy, peaceful smile spread across his face. It was safe here. This was what was called a hug.

Hermione on her part was blushing furiously as she realized that she was hugging a boy. Sure she'd hugged a lot of people. Her mom, her dad, her cousins that drove her insane during family holidays, her oddball aunt Emily, and all her other aunts and uncles. But this was the first time she'd ever done anything with a male friend, for this was in fact her first male friend ever.

It was nice. It was perfect. It was over too shortly. "We should talk to Professor Dumbledore soon Harry..."

"Yeah... let's go..." Harry agreed, before they rolled up their essays and stashed them into their bags, and went to find one of the Professors to get guided to his office. Little did they know that Rowena was watching them with a knowing smirk as they walked out the door. The next time Harry was looking for a book, she'd have to make sure there was a special one waiting for him on the shelves.

Oh, it was going to be so nice to help young love along...


	9. Lemon Drops and Hopping Toads

Before we start, let's give a big round of applause to Kyae for coming on as the beta reader. And another for ro10tom8os for also volunteering. Anyhow, on with the story!  


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As it turned out, finding a teacher was far easier than they ever imagined, for Professor Flitwick had just been on his way to the common room to find them. Apparently Dumbledore had wanted to talk with them. One thought crossed the minds of both young students, especially after the events of dinner last night. '_What did we do?_'

"Oh don't look so worried you two, he's in a much better mood today," Flitwick assured them as he began escorting him to the office of one Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, smiling happily at his two prized students. He apparently was the only one not thinking that the two of them were about to be expelled for something that they couldn't quite admit to having done in the first place. "I'm sure that he's just wanting to check in with you two. Being new to the Wizarding World and all that."

Little else was spoken about as they made their way to the office, thankfully not passing any students at all. At the soon to be all too familiar gargoyle statue, Flitwick called out "Chocolate Balls" which caused the statue to rotate out of the way, and reveal a set of stairs. "There you two go, go on up now."

Using their Ravenclaw intellect, they reasoned that it would be worse if they kept Professor Dumbledore waiting, and began the utterly nerve-wracking climb of twenty-seven stairs, and three steps to the only door in the area. As Harry raised a hand to knock, it swung open, and they began to wonder just what was in that juice they had at lunch. Everything was a buzz of activity, several devices that they could only guess at the purpose of lined many of the shelves, while a phoenix flitted about, to settle on Dumbledore's chair. Staring at them with sharp eyes, and a sweet three note trill of greetings.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, so good of you to be prompt," The headmaster that they had feared meeting stated, reaching up to stroke the phoenix's neck feathers gently. Hermione wondered if maybe a white cat might not have been a better companion for Dumbledore briefly, before her thoughts were cut off by him continuing. "Do come in; have a seat... would you care for a lemon drop?"

"Err... no thank you Professor..." Harry answered nervously as he and Hermione edged their way in, the door closing on its own. As they settled into the two chairs opposite the wizened old man, their minds couldn't help racing through all the pranks they had either pulled, or planned. Thankfully for them, they didn't meet his eyes, instead content to gaze at their feet. "You... you wanted to see us sir?"

"Ah, yes I did..." Albus answered while stroking his beard in thought. After a moment he leaned forward steepling his fingers before his face. "Harry, I had some people who were meant to check up on you... A group of light-sided witches, if you will. Sadly many of them grew distracted by duties elsewhere, and it ended up with only one witch, sadly she was a squib..."

At the confused looks from the two, he sighed and explained, "A Non-magical witch or wizard."

As they seemed to understand that readily enough, he continued where he'd left off, "And as she couldn't make her reports regularly, I ended up relying on a third party to confer the reports."

Pulling out a rather thick stack of papers, he set it down heavily on the desk before him. "Now, the curious things about these reports are that some of the things she has claimed to see are false. If her reports were to be true, you should be twice your current weight, another foot taller, and radiating magic enough to light this office like a Christmas tree."

A look of disgust and horror crossed his face as he continued, pulling the top-most report from the stack. "And I quote... '_Professor, he is going to draw Death Eaters any moment now with the amount of magical energy he is exhibiting. I recommend putting magical blocks on him until such time as he graduates from Hogwarts._' End quote. If I had considered this Harry, you would likely be dead before the first night had passed," Albus stated, with a look of utter disdain on his face at the mere thought of it. Shifting his hand down onto the stack, he returned the paper and sighed heavily. "I have wronged you, Mr. Potter, and for that I am truly sorry."

Hary considered what those reports had suggested, in particular if Dumbledore had followed through with them. If the blocks had been put into place for the amount of magic that the reports claimed he'd had, he would have been nothing more than a muggle. "Could... could they have wanted me to be a squib, sir?"

Thinking back to the talk he'd had with Hagrid earlier, he wondered if this person, and whoever this Ms. Prewitt was, might be in league with one another. There was just something about it all that gave him a bad feeling about the entire situation. Albus sighed and nodded sagely before answering. "Indeed, that is quite possible, but... I have trusted this source for years now... and I pray that it is not the case."

"It would seem logical sir... umm... could this possibly be related to the... incident..." Harry supplied, with a nervous look at Hermione, whom he hadn't told about the attack yet, "In the infirmary?"

"What incident Harry?" Hermione asked with worry evident in her voice, as she leaned over to take his hand. "You're not hurt are you? Well, I mean of course not hurt physically or Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let you out, but an attack in a place of healing could likely scar anybody for life, and with your already weakened condition, I dare say it would have had you in quite a state. You didn't have another panic attack did you? I knew I should have insisted to stay with you, but Madam Pomfrey told me that you needed rest, and that I'd just be in the way of her duties..."

A polite cough and the aged voice of Dumbledore seemed to derail Hermione's worried express pretty efficiently. "Ms. Granger? If I might suggest letting him answer..."

"Oh! Sorry Professor..." Hermione answered, while blushing deeply in embarrassment. "I tend to ramble when I get worried or nervous..."

"I'll tell you about it after we're done here Hermione... I meant to tell you earlier in fact... but..." Harry started, before rubbing the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face. "I guess I forgot with classes and all that... Sorry..."

"Back to the matter at hand..." Albus stated, cutting off another awkward moment smoothly. "Your mentioning of the infirmary incident made me remember something I found to help protect you on school grounds..." Pulling out a ring with a small sapphire set in it, he passed it over to Harry. "This ring has an emergency Portkey spell on it, should you come under attack, just focus on the ring, and you will be transported to here."

"Thank you sir... but..." Harry asked, rolling the ring around in his fingers. "What if I'm with someone? I don't want to leave them under attack... Can they go with me?"

"Oh, I should have warned you, anyone touching you at the time would be transported with you," Dumbledore explained while he stroked his beard again. "I also want you to travel in groups of no less than two, I feel that they are less likely to attack you if you are not alone..."

"Err... yes sir... about not being alone..." Harry answered, slipping the ring onto his finger nervously, hoping that he didn't set it off accidentally. "Hermione and I were talking..."

"And we were wondering... with Harry's relatives being... as they are... would it be alright if I invited Harry to join my family for Christmas? I was going to invite the twins too, since they seem so keen on seeing a real muggle family..." Hermione continued from where the boy had left off.

If Albus was surprised by this, he certainly didn't show it to the two. He merely leaned back in his chair, letting Fawkes land on his desk so that he could stroke the neck feathers with greater ease. After a few minutes he sighed and nodded, as though to himself. "I do not see many problems with that... but I believe that precautions would have to be taken. For your family's protection as well as Harry's. Have you asked your parents yet?"

"No sir..." Hermione answered as though she'd just been scolded for a wrong answer. "I thought it best to ask you first, just in case Harry couldn't... and then I was going to send my parents a letter, either tonight or first thing tomorrow. I suppose that a school's owl would be best, since I don't think they would be as noticeable as Hedwig. But if Harry wouldn't mind letting Hedwig do it, and if Hedwig agreed, I suppose I could use her and spare the school's resources..."

"Ms. Granger..." Dumbledore cut in, slowing her panic train. "I must say that while your ability to plan for the future is remarkable, perhaps you should consider spending some time in the now. It may help with the rambling, or so I found in my youth..."

"Yes sir, thank you sir..." Hermione answered with a deepening blush, "I will try sir..."

"Now, why don't you two run along, and I will work on setting things up for your Christmas vacation, hmm?" Albus offered while indicating the door. "Unless... there are other things you wish to know..."

"No sir," The pair answered in unison, as they pushed themselves up. "Thank you for seeing us Professor..." Harry continued with a grateful smile. "I hope that you won't trouble yourself overly much on my account sir."

"Nonsense Harry, I am your headmaster, it's my job to make sure all my students are able to enjoy their school years, free of fear and as comfortable as we can make it for them," Albus answered while walking the two out. "If you have anything else you might need, feel free to ask me or your professors anytime..."

"Well sir... an introductory class on the Wizarding World would be a wonderful idea," Hermione suggested as they got to the door, which opened by itself again. "We keep finding things that we don't fully understand, and thought that other muggle raised students would benefit from such a class too."

"An excellent idea Ms. Granger, I shall bring it up at the next meeting," Albus agreed with a wide smile. "I should have expected nothing less from a Ravenclaw witch of the calibre you're shaping up to be."

The pair left the office, and found that the halls were still almost completely empty for some odd reason. They knew that it was after class, and yet still well before dinner. There should have been at least _some_ students out wandering around. They saw a few out in the open areas of the courtyard, but there was no one inside.

In fact, it wasn't until they'd gotten back to the common room that they found anything. The fact that the entire room was in an uproar, and people were shouting "CATCH THAT TOAD!", "CLOSE THE DOOR!", and "DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!" were good indications about something going on. The green object streaking towards Hermione's face right as the door opened was another. It took Hermione a moment to realize that the toad hadn't hit her in the face as it had seemed destined to; instead it was currently in the hands of Harry, who was petting it with one hand, while the other held it firmly around the mid-section.

"Err... Whose toad is this?" Harry asked nervously, as everyone seemed to be looking at him with speculative eyes. "What? What did I do?"

"Nothing Harry, my boy... absolutely nothing..." Fred answered with a grin that assured him that it was anything but nothing, and the fact that the grin was spreading like wild fire did nothing to help soothe the bad feeling Harry was getting.

"Now then, let's return that toad there to Neville in Hufflepuff, it's down by the kitchens..." George cut in before Harry could dump the toad off on someone else. The twins force marched both Harry and Hermione out the door, and down the hall.

"Nice catch there mate," Fred offered once they had cleared the hall, and gotten to the back stairs, which switched around far less often as the main ones did. "You managed to do it in under a second of opening the door. Have to say that you have a knack for being a seeker, and..."

"We'd be willing to bet good money that by the time we get back, Professor Flitwick will have been told, and be itching to see you on a broom as the seeker," George finished for his brother, leading them down a side hallway.

"But First Years aren't allowed to have brooms," Hermione interjected with a frown, she didn't like outright breaking the rules, and this sounded like the twins were planning just that.

"He could just borrow one of the better school brooms, most of the Quidditch teams have brooms set aside for those that can't afford their own. So, _technically_ he wouldn't own it," Fred clarified with a smirk.

George picked up the trail of thoughts with an equal smirk upon his face. "In fact, there is no rule to claim that first years cannot be on a Quidditch team, they just generally are asked to wait until second year so they could possibly own their own brooms."

"But we have heard of this curious position on muggle teams, that we think Hermione would be perfect for..." Fred continued as they reached the portrait entrance to Hufflepuff common room. "Oh right... we don't know the password..."

"Can't use... that... because we're being watched..." George answered indicating the large painting before them, where the merry woman with a huge smile waited patiently for them to supply the password. For some reason, Hermione wanted to know if she knew Bilbo Baggins, but decided it would probably be a rude question.

"Excuse us ma'am... but we found Neville's toad... is there a way to let him know?" Harry asked, looking up at the portrait before him curiously.

"Wotcher dearies, are you some of Rowena's fledglings?" asked the portrait with a laugh. After a moment she knelt down to take a closer look at the toad in Harry's hands. "Ah, there is Trevor, that naughty, naughty toad... I'll go and get one of the prefects, eh?"

They didn't have to wait long for a tall, thickly built fifth year to step out and look at them with a wide grin. "Found Trevor, eh? Well if you'll hand him over, I'll put him back in his cage. Not that it'll do much good, eh?"

Harry held out Trevor, still clenched firmly around the mid-section, which the prefect copied almost expertly. "Thanks again mates, been looking for this guy for a few days, just can't sit still, can he?"

"He was hopping around like mad in the Ravenclaw commons," Fred commented with a smile and a pat to the prefect's shoulder. "Well we best be getting on to dinner, see you around mate."

"Aye, take care. Never know where you'll find yourselves wandering these halls, eh?" The work-worn student asked with a laugh before giving a wave and ducking back into the portrait, replaced once again by the Laughing Lady.

"Take care dearies, and if you talk to Rowena, tell her that her fledglings are looking far too scrawny again, she really needs to fatten you lot up!" she called out, before letting out a jovial laugh and dancing around gaily to music that played from the band in the background.

Once they'd gotten away from the portrait George leaned against the two youngster's shoulders, looping an arm over each. "Now you see why we leave the Hufflepuffs alone, aside from Lady Rowena's asking. They're generally a great bunch of mates, and more than once they've covered for Fred and I when we slipped up."

While they continued walking along, Harry remembered something that they'd wanted to talk to the twins about. "Hey guys? Got a question... Do you know any male students with the last name Prewitt? Apparently, his mom was set up to meet me at the station... kinda want to apologize to them..."

"Prunit? Wasn't that the third year in Gryffindor that got hit by the whomping willow last year?" Fred asked casually, having not fully heard the question. His mind was a bit distracted, because the back stairs seemed to be missing. So now they'd have to backtrack to the main stairs.

"No, I think he said Privet... you know that Sixth year Slytherin that broke his arm when one of the stairs vanished under his feet," George corrected, while they headed for the main stairs. Apparently he hadn't heard Harry correctly either.

"No, he said Prewitt, I suppose the spelling is P-R-E-W-I-T-T, or something like that..." Hermione cut in to the twin's musings, drawing them up to a dead stop with a haunted look to their faces. After a few steps, Harry and Hermione turned around to look at them, and blinked at the expressions that they both shared. "What? Is he that bad?"

"We... don't know any students by that name..." Fred began, looking slightly weirded out, as though pieces of a disturbing mental image began to assemble in his mind. "But... let us say that we might know someone born Prewitt, before they got married."

"And supposing that this person seemed to have a keen interest in meeting with someone they wouldn't tell us who... and they had a son that they were pushing to befriend this other person..." George continued, mirroring Fred's look perfectly.

"Well, I suppose that would make sense... After all, a child born out of wedlock would be looked down upon in Wizarding World as well I suppose..." Hermione stated with a curious look on her face. "Now, if she is who you think she is... it would be good for Harry to talk to her son, wouldn't it?"

"We're not so sure about that Hermione..." Fred answered with a nervous look on his face. "In fact, if we tell you who it is... you two might not trust us anymore..."


	10. Into the Rebel's Roost

Edit: Forgot to mention that both the beta and I missed the misspelling of Prewett in past chapters, has been fixed in this and future chapters. Thanks to HJP265 for pointing that out.  


* * *

To say that dinner was an awkward affair, would be like saying that Voldemort really should have skipped over the Potter's on Halloween night in 1981. Fred and George seemed dead set to avoid the gaze of their younger protégés, whilst the younger two couldn't figure out why they were so uncomfortable all of a sudden. They'd been like this since the declaration that the younger two would never trust them again if they found out the truth. Which was utterly preposterous to the two first years, as they hadn't shown any other reasons for such a notion.

At first they were going to press for an explanation, but then the Hufflepuff students started streaming past, and they let it pass as a private matter for the Rebels to discuss later on. Instead, they just walked up to the table silently, Fred and George arguing quietly between themselves, while Harry and Hermione just watched on curiously.

They got to the table, and started eating, with a distinct lack of conversation amongst themselves that more than a _few_ eyes and ears noticed. The first to notice was Professor Flitwick, who wondered if his little fledglings had had a falling out. Then there was the Headmaster Dumbledore, whose concern was that Harry was going to lose his friends so shortly after getting some. But it seemed that Ms. Granger was still by his side, so he wasn't overly concerned, and turned his thoughts to wondering who in Hogwarts could possibly be the hissing man and the stutterer. His primary concern was that Harry might have Parselmouth ability, and that the hissing man was actually a snake.

Unlike many in the Wizarding World, he considered such a gift as the mark of an exceptional wizard, _not_ the one of a dark wizard. Perhaps he should look into creating a spell to mimic the ability of a Parselmouth. It would do much to help others get over the silly believe that all Parselmouths are evil.

Another that noticed the separation was Professor Snape, who merely frowned and went back to work on the grading he was doing. It was none of his concern after all, even if it was Lily's son. The boy had to learn to deal with people properly. Besides, those Weasley twins had been troublesome thorns in his side since they had started school.

The final eyes of 'importance' that noticed the silence was one Draco Malfoy. He liked seeing Harry suffer like this. He didn't know how, but he was _certain_ that Potter had been in on the loss of points he had caused for his house. He would get his revenge, and then Potter would know who the _true_ prince of Hogwarts was. Oh yes, he was going to get that arrogant, raven-haired, emerald-eyed, soft, tender, adorable Harry Potter, and then he was going to crush him under heel, and make him his slave! But first, his father was going to have to deal with Dumbledore taking all those points off him.

Harry and Hermione left the table first, which was normal for the group, going to the common room, where they settled in on the couch and let out a synced sigh.

"I don't know what to do Harry... we can't go on like this... it's only been an hour, and it's already driving me crazy..." Hermione whispered, curling up on the couch.

"Hermione... I... I think maybe we should tell them that we trust them, and that what someone else is doing will not change our minds," Harry offered quietly, his eyes focused on the flickering flames in the hearth. "They're our friends, right? So... let's trust them."

"I suppose... but only on everything _but_ pulling pranks on us..." Hermione agreed after a moment of thought. Pushing herself up off the couch, she walked over to the stairs that led to her room. "I'm going to write a note to my parents about Christmas. Would you like to send them one? I think it would make a better impression if you asked as well... and I suppose I should see if the twins want to write one too..."

"Sure, just let me get some stuff and I'll write a letter..." Harry agreed, keeping up the warm, pleased smile up until he made it past the seventh year boy's rooms. A letter to a parent he didn't know, this was _bad_, he'd have to word it perfectly or they wouldn't let him come over, and Hermione would be upset.

Every step he took seemed to thunder in his ears, as he circled the tower's inner column silently in thought. Anyone watching him would have sworn that he was marching off to his own execution, rather than just his room. Even the act of gathering up a ballpoint pen and some paper seemed to be a grand resistance to some invisible hand of fate beckoning him towards the gallows.

He made it back to the common room just after Hermione, and he found her sitting at the table by the window, idly tapping a pen to her chin in thought. As the fading light of the setting sun fell upon her, he couldn't help but wonder if that rosy glow surrounding her was real or all in his imagination. Blinking away the image, he walked over to the table and sat opposite of her.

The two worked quietly, the only sound being the occasionally crinkling of a page before Harry tossed in the fire. Hermione seemed to be having no problem, as her letter was currently on the fifth page, and still going strong. Swallowing deeply, Harry decided to try once again.

_Mr. and Mrs. Granger,_

_You don't know me, but my name is Harry Potter, and I am Hermione's friend. She has been so nice as to extend an invite for me to visit over Christmas. I was hoping that it would be alright if I accepted. If you would rather not have me, I understand. If you would have me, I would be very grateful and would help out with chores. You do not need to get me anything, because just being able to visit would be more of a gift than I could ever imagine._

_Best Wishes,_

_Harry Potter_

Rereading the short letter, he fidgeted nervously. It was the first time he wrote to ask anyone anything. Even when he was younger, he never got to write a letter to Santa, so he didn't know the proper way it should read. Maybe he should redo it again, being less forward.

The decision was taken out of his hand quite literally by Hermione, who read over the note, and nodded with a slight frown. It seemed that although she wasn't too happy about it, she found it acceptable. That was a good thing right?

"Harry... I'm sure they'd love to have you over," Hermione assured him as she tucked the note in with her own letter. "Just wait and you'll see."

"Okay..." Harry agreed, before looking around, noticing that it was a lot darker than it had been. "The twins haven't come back yet?"

"Oh, I asked them to write a note while you were so busy with yours... they decided to do it in their rooms apparently," Hermione explained while setting the envelope to the side. "They were very excited and happy to be coming over, even if it meant up to two weeks without magic. I hope that my parents accept having so many boys over, but dad's always saying that he wished he had a son and mom always wanted me to have friends over. Maybe they'll like the three of you so much that they'll invite you over for the summer, and you'll never have to worry about those dreadful relatives of yours again..." Hermione trailed off as she noticed Harry's pained expression.

"Oh Harry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring them up, it's just that I don't like how they treated you, after all you're a wonderful boy, and my first real friend, so I thought that maybe you could spend the summers with me, but I can understand if you'd rather not hang out with a bookworm girl like me for the entire summer, so maybe it would be better for you to ask the twins as well, you could spend half with me, and half with them. After all, they said they had a big family, so I think that it would be interesting to see what that's like since I'm an only child, and to hear them talk about it, their siblings are all so very different, it's hard to imagine them all being one family. But then again, look at Percy, Ron, and Fred and George..."

"Hermione..." Harry cut in softly, slamming the breaks on her rambling speech. "It's okay... it's all happening so fast, that I am having trouble keeping up. I'm glad I have you and the twins by my side to help me out."

Hermione blushed and shifted her gaze to her feet, squirming a little under Harry's warm, open smile. She knew that he meant every word, but after being ostracized for so long as the bookworm of the group, she couldn't get over someone being nice to her. "Well... I... I think that the twins should be down soon, and if we hurry, we can get to the owlery and back before curfew..."

"Well then, if you'll read over out little missive, we'll be off..." Fred cut in, holding out a two page letter to Hermione's parents, one from each of the twins.

George meanwhile pulled Harry away from the table and leaned in to talk with him privately. "Listen Harry mate, we believe the two of you deserve an explanation, and we know a room just outside the owlery that won't have curious ears about..."

Harry blinked as he filtered through what George had just told him, before nodding slowly in agreement. At that George gave him a small, half-smile of apology, before continuing. "Only problem is that it only unlocks after curfew, but it's well hidden, so we won't be found easily if we stop there for a bit."

"Oh?" Harry asked curiously, before shaking his head. "Don't tell me, we'll see it when we stop by and talk. Are we using the map tonight?"

"Fred's got it," George assured Harry, just as his twin lifted out the piece of parchment, and showed it to Hermione. After a minute the map was tucked away again, and they were heading out. Fred and Harry took the lead, while Hermione and George were only a few steps behind them.

At the owlery Hedwig was more than happy to see Harry, and nuzzled her beak against his neck tenderly. Of course that meant that her feathers brushed against the rest of his neck, causing him to start laughing lightly. "Hello Hedwig... I know I should have been by sooner..." Harry answered at the hurt look and plaintive hoot the owl shot him. "I'll make it up to you... but would you mind making a trip for me and my friends?"

At the curious look, Harry indicated the trio of other students, especially Hermione who was holding out the letter tentatively. Hedwig looked between the three students, hooted softly with a nod before nibbling Harry's ear affectionately. "That's great Hedwig, I'm sure they'd love to be your friends too..."

"Of course I would..." Hermione assured the owl, while holding out the letter. Hedwig hopped over and nibbled Hermione's ear softly, before taking the letter and flying away. Hermione reached up and rubbed her ear gently. "She's really nice, isn't she?"

"Yeah... I have to use her some more I think... she's probably lonely..." Harry answered, watching the snowy owl flying away into the growing darkness. He could hear the others, and while it didn't fully register what they were saying, but he could feel the reassurance that it was affirmations. Turning away from the glassless windows and found Fred and George hunched over the map planning something. "Right, let's get to this room before we're caught..."

"We have a problem there mate... Filch is on his way up here, and there's five minutes left until curfew," Fred supplied while pulling open the door, and ushering everyone out. "Let's get moving mates, we're on a tight schedule, and if we don't stick to it, we're in hot water."

The quad dashed down the hall, heading back the way they came. George was in the lead, indicating turns and keeping an eye on the people represented on the map. Fred kept to the back, making sure that the younger pair remained in step and ready to act as decoy, since he knew how to get back to the room if needed.

As they turned the corner of the hallway, the bells rang loudly outside, signaling that curfew had just started. Fred lifted his head, and called forth with a loud caw, almost perfectly mimicking a raven. Halfway down the hallway, a torch flickered in a breeze no one felt, and threatened to extinguish itself. What caught Harry and Hermione off-guard most was the fact Fred leaped up, grabbed the torch holder and flipped himself up through the ceiling.

Harry was setting up for a copy of the flip, when a ladder lowered itself out of the ceiling. Looking up at the still solid stone protectorate from the elements, Harry couldn't help but remember the passage to the Hogwarts express. Taking one side of the ladder, he held it steady as Hermione scampered up like a squirrel. Apparently he was right, as Hermione slipped through the stones easily, and then it was his turn.

He was up the ladder faster than he'd ever thought possible, and found himself in a room. The floor was covered in pillows, indicating how Fred managed not to get hurt. Above them, rafters supported the roof, which had a nice view of the night's sky played out on the underside. If it wasn't for the giant eagle painted on one wall, and a raven on the opposite, while between them was an empty portrait, Harry would have thought it was just an old abandoned attic room.

Before he'd even finished one full inspection of the room, George was up with them; the ladder hooked to his left foot. As soon as he'd undone the supports to the ladder, a slab of stone appeared magically back in place, sealing the room. "How'd we do Fred?"

"Made it with half a minute to spare, Filch is right under us," Fred proclaimed proudly, while giving his twin a hearty handshake. "Oh, it's alright to talk you two, there's a very curious spell on this room that makes any noises heard down below sound like birds scuttling about up here. Lady Rowena was a genius to set these hideouts all over the school."

"Wish we could mark them on the map..." George spoke with a soft frown. "Still haven't learned how to add information like that on the map. I hope we can talk to one of the Marauders to work it out..."

"Who were the Marauders?" Harry asked, having gotten his wind back before Hermione had. "And should we start going on morning jogs before breakfast?"

"Not you Harry, not yet anyhow... we can talk to Madam Pomfrey to set up something like that..." Hermione answered, pausing a moment to catch her breath occasionally. "But a healthy body would be a good thing to have..."

"Part of why we want you two on the team..." Fred countered with a wide, beaming smile. "If you were, there'd be nothing odd about working out throughout the day... and if a prank happens to go off somewhere nearby..."

"Mums the word," Harry answered with a smile as he settled into one of the pillows, marveling at how comfortable it was. "I can understand me being seeker, like you two were talking about... but what position did you think of for Hermione?"

"I was reading up on the teams, and with my... problem flying... I don't think I could be good at any of the positions..." Hermione stated shyly, while settling in next to Harry. "You said a muggle position... what position's that?"

"Why manager and assistant coach of course," Fred answered as though it was the most obvious thing. "We think that you'd make an absolute fantastic strategist, and maybe help us to get an advantage to the other teams..."

"We did our research, and found out about these devices that allow people to talk to each other at distance..." George explained while he and Fred spread out on the pillows. "We'll show you the drawing for it sometime; maybe you can help us figure it out..."

"But that's not why we're here tonight..." Fred answered with a deep frown. "Harry... Hermione... The PrewettPrewett family used to be rather large and influential..."

"Until the war..." George added sadly while he sat up and looked remorsefully at the younger two, almost as though he was saying goodbye forever to long term friends. His voice remained grave and heavy as he continued. "During the last war... the only two remaining Prewett male heirs, Gideon and Fabian, were killed by You-know-who..."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked, causing the twins to flinch, "Sorry..."

"No... It's alright, Professor Dumbledore does it too, so we should get used to it..." George answered before clearing his throat again. "Anyhow, their older sister Molly survived the war, and went on to marry. We've heard tell that the money from the Prewett family dried up after she married, probably because of the head of the family not liking her husband too much..."

"She went on to have several children... six sons, and a daughter," Fred continued while George started looking increasingly uncomfortable, it was hard to tell with Fred as he remained laying down, his eyes closed. "One of those sons is your age Harry... and we overheard him proclaiming how he was going to befriend you on the train..."

"But I don't remember anyone like that when I was on the train..." Harry answered with a puzzled look on his face. "The only people I saw where Hermione, her parents, and... your... family..."

"Spot on there Harry, Miss Prewett is none other than Molly Weasley... our mother," Fred answered while George turned away in shame. "We figure she's been plotting to get her hands in your bank account to return to the life she lived before marrying dad..."

The silence that descended over the four of them that was broken only by the sound of their breathing, which was how one could tell that they still lived. After nearly a half-hour passed, a single voice broke through the stillness, to ask one question. "Why wouldn't we trust you?"


	11. Reflecting In Many Ways

If the twins were caught off guard at all, they didn't show it in the least. Not at _all_ actually, what with their jaws hanging open, blank stares at Hermione's earnest face, and Harry's curious one. Especially not when they turned to face each other as though asking if the other had the answer, and then looking back at the two without the answer.

"Well... if mum's trying to muck up your life..." Fred answered with a hesitant voice.

It took a minute after Fred left off that George continued, "We thought you would think we were planted by her..."

"We aren't by the way," Fred cut in quickly, his eyes showing the actual fear of losing the interesting friends they had just made not a week ago. "But we thought you might be thinking that..."

"And well... we were worried about losing our fun little first years..." George admitted, the twins for once losing all signs of their usual prankster nature, and instead looking dead serious. "It's only been a week, but you two are our mates..."

"And we'd like to keep it that way," Harry cut in, getting a smirk out of the twins. A smirk which blossomed into a full smile as Hermione nodded her agreement. "Look, I know adults don't always act right by their kids, but you two seem to be the types that don't listen to what others say blindly."

"Besides, you could have kept it a secret," Hermione pointed out with simple deductive reasoning. "And the best way to have us not know would be to have kept silent. We wouldn't have been able to figure it out without many hours pouring over old yearbooks, if she even went to Hogwarts at all, and _then_ we would have had to look for her marital records. You saved us both a lot of time, and gave us a preemptive warning about her. Both of which wouldn't be in-line with her plans whatever they are for Harry. Unlike Ron, who most likely would have hampered Harry's growth academically, and most likely forced him to overeat or not talk to the teachers about his home life."

"Put that way Hermione... I'm not so sure I could trust any of you..." Harry stated with a thoughtful look on his face. It held for a moment until a smile broke over his face. "But your hearts were in the right place with the teachers. And even if the twins _are_ pranksters, they are very protective of us, and I've yet to see them prank the Hufflepuffs or ourselves..."

"That's by my request Harry," Rowena answered from her portrait, "It figures you would be in one of the roosts after hours..."

"The Rebel's Roosts... I like it..." Harry offered with a pleased smile to his face.

"So do I..." the others agreed, even as Rowena nodded in confirmation of the new name.

The rebels fell silent, looking at each other in a new sense of understanding of the bond that they've formed in the short time that they'd known each other. It was a warm, companionable silence that Harry felt like savoring for every second that he was able to. The others didn't feel like leaving the roost either, and so they just remained, basking in the silence as well.

"Do we stay here until the morning, or should we make it back to the dorms?" Hermione asked after a while, bringing everyone's thoughts to the here and now. "I mean Lady Rowena can go to through the portraits, but we'll have to manage with just the map..."

"We've managed just fine with it for the past half of a year," Fred answered defensively while George pulled out the map, activating it. "It's a wonderful invention by our predecessors the Marauders, the sheer brilliance of it has many possibilities waiting for us to explore... It..."

"Is showing that we'll be here for a while mates, Quirrel and his lover Riddle are in the owlery right now..." George cut in during the proclamation of the virtues of the Marauder's Map. He paused to view the entire route before them, taking it through multiple routes. "Huh... that's odd... Professor Sprout's in the forbidden hallway tonight... If we are quiet, we might just be able to sneak through there..."

"But if we're caught we could be killed... or worse expelled..." Hermione countered worriedly before chewing on her lower lip and looking over the map herself.

"Hermione... We can find another school, I bet..." Harry cut in, "I don't think we can say the same for another life."

"Umm... yeah..." Hermione answered as though scolded, her eyes focusing on the map nervously, before pointing out a clear hallway on the fourth floor, which would leave them just a set of stairs away from the entrance to the common room. There were even convenient hiding areas lining the hallway that they could use to keep from being discovered.

"If we go now, and be quiet, we can avoid Quirrel and make it down this hallway with little trouble. Unless there are portraits there..." Hermione paused looking up at Lady Rowena who shook her head slowly, indicating that there were none. "Right then... let's go..."

Fred levered up the trap door and peeked out, looking up and down the hallway before flipping over and landing on his feet softly. He then helped Harry and Hermione get down, before George joined them, pulling the door shut behind him. With a single point from Hermione, the group was off, with Fred acting as guide and scout.

They'd actually made it to the hallway before Fred ducked into a room, Harry and Hermione chose another room, while George took a third. All of them were as silent as the grave as they leaned up against their respective doors. The soft footsteps thundered in their ears as they held their breaths, hoping and praying to any deity available that no one found them.

It seemed some divine favor had heard them, as the footsteps simply continued on without a sound. Fred and George emerged from their rooms first, and were surprised when almost a minute later their younger charges were still missing. Fred nodded towards the room that the two had ducked into, and George moved over and knocked softly on the door. When no response was heard, save for muffled mumblings, the twins opened the door and found the two younglings staring at a mirror.

'_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi,_' Fred read out in a whisper, wishing he had a piece of paper to write that down. After all it sounded like a forgotten language, and if he learned it, writing warnings for pranks would be delightfully easy.

"My... my parents... and.... more... can it be... family?" Harry asked suddenly, looking lost in the mirror's depths. Next to him Hermione was staring at it, looking deeply thoughtful, with just a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Taking two steps towards the two, the twins reached out and shook their younger counterpart's on the shoulders, not daring to look into the mirror. Instead of having them jump under their grips, the younger two simply turned to look at each other, and then the twins in turn. "Did you see?"

"My family... my real family was there and they were proud of me," Harry stated happily while pointing back to the mirror.

"I saw myself in a great library, while... umm..." Hermione seemed to pause as a blush burnt her cheeks a rosy hue. "We should get back to the dorms... shouldn't we?"

"I don't know Gred... I think little Harmony here is holding out on us... what say you Herry?" George asked with a devious smirk.

"I agree with Harmony Forge, we should get to the dorms... but take the mirror so we can study it..." Harry answered, glad to have finally figured out which was which in the game. Not that it had been bugging him _that_ much.

"Take it and study it he says Forge..." Fred answered with a devious smirk, "I would like to know what it does and how... but we have to learn the transfiguration spell in order to copy it... And maybe a little Legilmency to delve into our dear Harmony's mind... And Occulmency..."

"Aye, much to learn we have... but for tonight we away to the dorms while the path is clear..." George answered in a heroic stage whisper, pointing out the door. After checking the map to ascertain the coast was clear, they made it to the common room door in record time, and Fred didn't even have to finish listening to the riddle before he spouted the answer.

"Handy trick of the map, it gives the password for the doors," George offered once they were inside, under the watchful gaze of Rowena. It would seem that the Rebels had made their first daring after curfew raid. All that was left was to retire to bed, so that they were up bright and early the next morning.

They got halfway to the stairs going to the dorms, when a small figure walked up to the boy's side. The sight of him cause all four of them to freeze in their tracks, especially when they saw a deep frown on his normally cheerful face. "I do not like taking away points from my own house..." Flitwick started in a grave voice. "Especially not from four exceptionally gifted students as you four are shaping up to be..."

"Professor, it's my fault..." Harry stated, coming forward in front of the others. "Hermione and I had gone up to the owlery to send a letter for Hermione, and got distracted talking to Hedwig... the twins came to bring us back and the stairs wouldn't align for us... Please don't punish them."

"Yes Professor," Hermione chimed in, while coming even with Harry, "Professor Dumbledore had told Harry not to be alone while he was out in the castle, and I'm afraid I was the one that distracted us while getting to know Harry's marvelous owl Hedwig. If the twins hadn't come and gotten us, I dare say we'd still be up there talking to her as the bells chimed. Please Professor, it was my fault that we were late, can't you just let the twins slide this once?"

"I see..." the part-goblin murmured while smoothing out his chocolate colored mustache. "Well then, I suppose fifty points from both Mister Potter and Miss Granger for their tardiness... and detention for all four of you tomorrow evening in my classroom... Misters Weasley, you both gain ten points each for going to help your fellow students. I'm afraid I have to knock off some points for not coming to find me or one of the prefects first, I would have given you a pass, or the prefects could have escorted you. Now get on to bed you four."

"Yes sir," echoed the four students as they slipped past the short professor, and disappeared into their respective stairwells. Little did any of the four of them know that they each did the same thing upon entering their rooms.

Each one took a piece of scrap parchment and scrawled out the message on the mirror. None of them knew the answer, but they felt that having it around would make it easier to solve.

When they got around to it, of course.

The following morning, while going through the grooming ritual that Mir instructed him to go through, Harry found something interesting in the reflection. "Hey Mir... if I were to enchant a mirror, to say... act as a portable for you... what would I have to do?"

"I'm not an expert darling, but I know part of it is to write the commands in mirror language..." Mir answered while trying to figure out a way to tame the boy's raven locks, she hadn't given up on that one yet, not in the least. "It's so nice that you want to have me portable, after all, you could probably use a touch up now and then, you absolute joy, you! But part of my duty is to make certain you learn how to work without me."

Harry had tuned her out, as a smile spread over his lips. Mirror language, that's the clue he needed to solve this riddle. And riddle it was, since the answer was sitting right in front of him. '_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi,_' turned into '_i show not your face but your hearts desirE_' in the mirror, if one were to realign the spacing between the letters. It was possibly the easiest code in _history_ to break, but that was the beauty of it. Most people would look beyond the simple, especially when it came to enchanting an item of such power as the mirror had to be.

Finishing up his grooming, he hugged Mir's vanity top and practically skipped out to the common rooms, despite the books weighing him down. Once again, he found that not everyone was an early riser, as the only other person in the room was Lady Rowena, and she was sleeping in her picture.

Taking up a seat by the window, he settled in to watch the sun rising slowly in the distance. There was a simple magic in the rising of the sun. One that he'd never gotten a chance to enjoy growing up with the Dursley's. There was a lingering fear about what was going to happen come the summer, but that was pushed aside by the gentle, warming glow of a ball of ever-burning gases ignited some thousands of miles distant from the Earth, which it lent its life-giving rays to the mere mortals upon the planet.

Maybe he should consider joining the Quidditch team, or just getting up to go jogging at this time in the morning. When there was not another soul about, just him and the morning. With a heavy sigh, he remembered Dumbledore's order to not go out alone, and wondered if he could convince one of the others to join him. Fred and George seemed interested, and were planning on being on the team. Hermione would be his preferred companion, but he didn't know if he could ask her.

"Penny for your thoughts mate," Fred's voice cut through his thoughts, forcing him to look over his shoulder to find Fred walking up to him, stopping next to the boy, and looking out of the window too. "Saw you standing here and thought you could use some company..."

Harry smiled warmly at the older boy, realizing that Fred had been the one to take the lead when the younger pair had problems. It was like he was a protective big brother to them. "Hey Fred... just thinking about going jogging... I don't want to wake anyone up early, but it'd be nice..."

"Heh that it would mate..." Fred answered with a laugh. "Been a busy first week, huh mate?"

"Yeah..." Harry replied distantly as the week flashed through his mind. It had been far busier than even he realized, but for some reason he found he wouldn't have traded a second of it. Both the good and bad seemed to have an underlying sense of acceptance that he'd always longed for. When his mind came to last night, he found himself remembering his early morning discovery. "I solved the mirror's riddle..."

"By looking at the riddle in the mirror?" Fred cut in with a chuckle. "Silver caught me writing it last night, and told me the translation. Surprised me to say the least at what it came out as..."

The two boys chuckled at that, letting the silence return naturally. They simply stood there, enjoying the rising of the Sun over the Eastern horizon. The silence remained, even as the remaining two Rebels joined them at the window, looking out over the grounds. Finally, Harry broke the silence with a simple question.

"Shall we go out and cause some havoc?"


	12. Cleaning Up and Out

It's been pointed out that I mispelled family names, and will be trying to fix that in future installments. I'm sorry about that. I hope it doesn't ruin the story for anyone.

* * *

If there was something that was boring, pointless, and completely monotonous, it was dusting the shelves of classroom 2E on a bright, seasonably warm afternoon. And to make it worse they couldn't use magic, so they had to pick up each and every book, scroll, and other items to wipe them down and then the shelf itself. Of course, that was just the _first_ hour of detention.

After finishing them, and getting a few spells set aside for later uses, they were sent to straighten out the storage room off the classroom. There they found a basic treasure trove of items and 'useless junk', as Professor Flitwick claimed. One of the corners they started with held a fully functional pensive. "Hey Professor? Where do you want this?"

"Hmm? Oh my... I'd forgotten that was in here, so I went out to buy a new one..." Flitwick admitted with a blush to his cheeks. "I suppose I should think about getting rid of it..."

"I'll buy it off you Professor..." Harry offered with a grin, "I think being able to see memories would be wonderfully useful... And maybe some other things that you have just collecting dust..."

"Oh yes," Hermione chimed in with a bright smile. Turning slightly she pointed to a far corner where a lot of weapons were stashed. "I know that my father would simply adore some of those old weapons of yours... if you don't mind sir..."

"Well... I can't really sell to students... especially not those weapons, but if you want to bring me some of what you'd like to take, I suppose I could make them muggle safe if you plan to give them to your family Ms. Granger... or if you plan to keep them yourself, restrict their powers until you come of age..." Flitwick offered while looking at the thick layer of dust on some of the items right inside the door. "I will require someone to assist me if I work on the enchantments... Another teacher, but they should be completed by the end of the week."

"Can we take something sir?" Fred asked, indicating himself and George both of whom were flanking a positively ancient looking globe. "This for instance is something Charlie would love..."

"Oh! Certainly, certainly... As I said, just place what you'd like for yourselves by my desk, I will be working on some lesson plans... But I will look over the items when I can," Flitwick agreed with a huge grin, thinking that he'd just found a way to get rid of a lot of useless junk. Maybe those muggles had the right idea with their rummage sales; it would be much easier to clear the clutter using one of them. He might just have to consider that.

The four Rebels all grinned at each other knowing that they'd just hit the veritable jackpot. Fred, George, and Harry formed the muscles of the group, sorting things where Hermione commanded. Some like a sword with the word Caledfwlch engraved between the twin chimeras on the hilt had her gasping in surprise, before reverently setting it down carefully on a wall plague to hang gleaming in the low light proudly. She even went so far as to forbid anyone from touching the hilt of the sword, saying she'd explain later.

While others, like the pensive, globe, and a few weapons that she could only tell were magical were sent for Flitwick to inspect, with a note attached explaining their destined purpose. While they collected a lot of useful items, the majority of what they sent out would count as nick-knacks.

Though they probably pulled a king's fortune out of the back room, and a few were sent back just as quickly, they had one item that they weren't entirely sure what to do with. It appeared to be a forty story long rope of braided blonde hair, coiled up on a huge pile in one corner. They decided to straighten it out, removed a few knots, and just leave it there. There was probably a very good explanation behind that mass of hair, but they weren't entirely sure they wanted to know.

A few items required the Professor's advise on placement. One such case actually had them trying to figure out how the tiny professor had gotten it into the room in the first place. Well, after all, it wasn't everyday that one found the entire main mast of a ship with a gold sixteen dollar piece nailed to it sitting inside a room that was barely big enough to fit it.

After a discussion with Professor Flitwick, they decided to leave it, and use its yardarms to hang some of the tapestries, and most curiously a golden fleece, from Ancient Greece. When they'd finished the room actually appeared to have a form and function to it. There was even a walkway to get to everything.

"Marvelous! Simply wonderful!" the part-goblin exclaimed while looking around the room happily, clapping his hands together. "I think that this is the neatest this room has been since I got it... Now, let us go and have our supper, didn't realize it was so late. Sorry kids."

"It's fine professor... but I'd like to go wash up first, if you don't mind..." Harry answered, while clapping some dust off his robe.

"Oh, quite right, quite right," Flitwick amended with a smile on his face. "I shall have your items ready in a week, fear not. Though I may ask that you collect a few throughout the week, much easier you know...

After they'd collected their bags, and the extra goodies that they'd stashed while cleaning, the Rebels made their way quickly back to the Ravenclaw common room. Once there, Fred cast a silencing charm around them, just including Rowena's portrait, and Harry spoke first. "I took a spell to allow us to diagnose magical items, see what they do."

"I found a spell to copy the physical appearance of any object, however it makes a mirror object appears. In the case of the mirror, it's what the person wants least that will appear..." Hermione explained sheepishly holding up her scroll partially from her bag. "Also, it will only last about a year... which is more than enough time for our purpose..."

Finally the twins produced a pair of scrolls from their robes. Fred unrolled the top of his first, pointing to a warning in bold letters. "I found a cleaning charm for waxing the floors... it warns that one shouldn't use it too much, or else it will make the floor impossible to stand on..."

"While I found an anti-counter spell charm..." George proclaimed while tucking his scroll into Hermione's bag, where the others had been placed by silent agreement. "It should help to make certain we have a good, long diversion..."

The Rebels all smiled deviously as they looked out the window to the setting sun, much the same way they had looked out the other window that very morning. After a minute, Harry's smile faltered and Rowena broke the silence. "Seems almost too easy, doesn't it my little fledglings?"

"I was thinking just that," Harry admitted sheepishly, "We'd best keep on our toes... we either all go in pairs outside of Ravenclaw tower, or all together, no one goes alone. Got it?"

"Right," the other three agreed while Harry thumbed his ring thoughtfully.

"Sometime during on our half-day, I'd like to look into creating portkeys. I think having one for each of us set up to go to one of the Rebel's Roosts might be a good thing, in case of emergency..." Harry explained while looking down at his robes. "We'd best get going guys... can't be too late for dinner..."

With that, and a whispered '_finite_' the Rebels broke and went to their dorms. Ten minutes later, they were back in the common room, ready to head out for supper. At least they were, until Harry's soft voice distracted them. "Hey guys... I'm sorry about being so bossy earlier...I was just worried..."

The other three all smiled and Hermione stepped forward hugging Harry firmly. "We know you're just worried about us Harry, it's the same for us. Now let's go get some food in you before Madam Pomfrey hunts us down and stuffs you up to your eyes..."

With a chuckle the group set off, Hermione's hand holding Harry's firmly, while the twins smirked devilishly behind them. As they sat down to eat, something unusual happened. Which, for Hogwarts, meant that _anything_ could have happened.

Ron Weasley was hiccupping bubbles.

Hermione turned to the girl next to her, whom she remembered was her classmate Su Li, a very pretty girl from Hong Kong, with long black hair, smooth skin, and pleasant almond shaped blue eyes. "What happened?"

What they found out was something that they doubted they could have attempted to pull off even if they dared try. Apparently one of the guys next to Ron had wanted to wash his hands before the meal, and asked for a bar of soap and a bowl of water before the young Weasley had seated himself. Somewhere around his fifth turkey leg, he'd gotten some stuck in his throat, and grabbed the first thing he could to drink: which just happened to be the soap filled water of his table mate.

After the initial laughter from everyone in the great hall, Harry could only ask one thing. "Why isn't he vomiting? Soap is dreadful tasting stuff, and if you swallow it doesn't sit right..."

Fred decided to field this one. "Wizarding soap Harry, is very much edible... though not too tasty... Besides that, we believe that Ron's stomach is made out of pure goblin steel, and nothing can escape it."

A rather entertaining meal of watching Ron hiccup a swarm of bubbles into the air later, the Rebels retired and made their way to the common room. About halfway there, Hermione asked something that she'd been holding in since they found out what had happened to the gluttonous first year. "Think that'll teach him to not eat like it's the last meal he'll ever see?"

"Not likely Hermione," Fred answered with a heavy sigh, "The only thing that we've seen get him off his meal is spiders. And then he runs away screaming, until he can come back to eat again..."

"And how exactly is he not the size of Crabbe?" Harry asked curiously while looking over his shoulder, wondering why he felt like someone was following them.

George joined Harry in his look, having felt the same thing, using his robe to block any view of Fred drawing the map and Hermione activating it to look for anyone following them. "Oh that's a trick of our dad's actually; all his side of the family can eat everything in sight and not gain an ounce. Most of us moderate ourselves... but..."

"He's Ron..." Harry concluded while Hermione pointed to something on the map. Apparently, they weren't just being paranoid and someone was indeed following them. Fred smirked, and as they rounded a corner left a sticking charm on the floor for whoever was following them to stick to.

And merely thirty paces down the hall, they heard a loud grunt and a shout of dismay from behind them. Looking back, they found Draco Malfoy and his two trained gorillas half out of their shoes and face flat on the ground. A _very_ good position for them.

Sadly they also found a Ravenclaw prefect looking at them very crossly. One explanation, release of trapped students, and deduction of points for all seven younger students, they went their separate ways. After making it back to their common room, they claimed their favorite chairs and couch.

"Why was Malfoy following us?" Harry asked with a frown on his face.

"Probably after some petty revenge or something mate. We'll have to keep an eye on him..." Fred answered from his spot sprawled over the end of the couch. "Wish we had a mouse or something to chase him... Too bad Percy gave Scabbers to Ron..."

"Speaking of Scabbers, I've not seen him on the map..." George replied curiously, "Even when I know he's there... it's marked as Peter Pettigrew..."

At that Fred rolled up from where he'd been sprawled with a curious look to his face. "Hey mate, isn't that the guy that Sirius Black offed with all those muggles the day after... err... the Potters died..."

"Couldn't be mate..." George offered, before the twins looked at Harry sheepishly, their apologies died when they saw instead of a sad, mournful, haunted look to Harry's face; there was a curious and intrigued expression there.

"Err... Harry? You alright?" Hermione asked, having been ready to scold the twins, until she caught sight of Harry's look, and grew concerned.

"Remember Professor MacGonagall's first lesson? When she turned into a cat... what if Peter could do that and used it to escape?" Harry asked curiously while staring into the fireplace. "We can't use the map as evidence... but if there was a way to force him to revert..."

"Oh there is dear, it's in my book over there," Rowena explained while pointing to the shelves. "Fourth one from the left on the third shelf, '_All You Need to Know About Animagi_' is the title I believe..."

Harry walked over and pulled the book from the shelf with a smile slowly spreading over his face. "I think I might have a plan... Fred, George, I might need to visit your home sometime..."

"Be careful there mate, Mum would love to sink her claws into you, remember?" Fred offered while watching Harry thumb through the book. "I'm getting an idea mates..."

"If it's the same as me... I'm in..." George offered with the devil's own smirk to his face.

"I can't believe you two, if we do that, it'd break at least a half dozen laws," Hermione started with a deep frown to her face as she picked up on the vibes the twins were sending to each other. "Not to mention we don't even know if we can do the process as students, and... and... It would be dreadfully useful... but we have so many other projects... and schoolwork... but it could count as extra credit for Transfiguration if we need it..."

The boys were about to buy Hermione's story, until they noticed the subtle hints of desire burning in the edges of her eyes. All she needed was a subtle, gentle nudge. "I don't know if we're smart enough to do it without you 'mione..." Harry spoke up while looking at the process to become an Animagi, finding that he was correct in that he'd have trouble even understanding half the words there.

"Oh... in that case, I suppose if I just help..." Hermione acquiesced with a faint blush to her cheeks and looking down at her hands. After a moment she caught something she'd missed. "'Mione?"

This time it was Harry's turn to blush and look anywhere but at her. "Yeah... I mean... your name is a bit of a mouthful... and I thought a nickname might be appropriate between friends... Sorry, I won't do it again..."

"No... I like it..." Hermione admitted while her blush grew heavier, causing Gred and Forge to chuckle knowingly to themselves. "I... I guess it's alright if you use it..."

"That a girl Hermione..." Fred and George cheered as they stood up and began making it to their dorms.

"Though I think we'll leave it to Harry for now..." Fred shot back with a knowing wink to the two.

George joined him in his look back, though not the wink as he added. "Don't forget that tomorrow we have a busy schedule, so don't stay up too late."

"Goodnight..." Harry and Hermione chimed just before the twins disappeared into the stairs heading down to the guy's dorms. As the two were left alone, Harry settled back into his seat and looked over at Hermione.

After a moment she looked up at him curious to find out what he wanted, she didn't have to wait long as he held up the book and smiled softly. "Look... I know you don't like breaking the rules, but... it looks like I need all the tricks I can get 'mione... so if you don't want to do it. I understand. Just... don't report us... okay?"

Hermione felt something inside her melt at what Harry'd said, and she pushed the book down into the folds of his robes. "Oh Harry, I'd never do that... and... well it could be fun..."

"That's the spirit..." Harry offered encouragingly as he covered the book with his robe, careful to keep it concealed as he stood up. "It's still early, but I think we should get to bed... maybe do some revisions privately..."

"Good idea," the brown-haired girl answered while smiling brightly at her friend. It was nice that he wanted to include her, and that he didn't force her along. Now if only he came with his own set of shining armor, a pure white horse, and a magical sword, he'd fit that silly little dream she'd had after her father read her fairy tales before bed.

Together they walked to the stairwells as others filtered in, and Hermione couldn't help but thinking one last sad thought as they parted.

_Silly little dreams of a girl for the future, huh?_


	13. Let's Fly Away!

It finally came to be the Wednesday of flying lessons. Harry and Hermione spent their Wednesday morning in History of Magic researching something entirely unrelated to the Goblin Wars of the 1400s, having copied the chapter last night. Hermione was working on the spell to copy a magical device, while trying to not focus on her fear of flying. Harry in the meantime was researching the process to become Animagi, and discovered that the actual method of becoming an Animagi was pretty simple.

He had discovered that he just had to enter a trance-like state until an animal spirit found and bonded with him. The only problem with that was about what spirit would choose him. And after that it was simply a matter of learning everything about the animal from inside out, learning about the human body to similar detail, and finally plotting out the change from the human body to the new form and back.

_That_ was the easy part, of course - after that, they had to brew up a potion which from the looks of it, was insanely complicated. Oddly enough, looking at the recipe carefully, Harry discovered that the book only listed a recipe for a dozen servings. Reading a little further on, deeply curious, he found out why there was the need for so many spare potions. Each person had only a slim chance of getting the process completed on the first try, but each successive potion increased the takers chances.

After twenty-four weekly tries, the takers was supposed to give up, since they were getting up near poisonous levels of the key ingredients. It would take ten years before the ingredient flushed from the consumer's system, and after that they were unable to try again since their body would have developed an immunity response to the poisonous ingredients, rendering them inert. What really caught his attention was that there was a massive chart of items needed for specific animals.

Almost all the mammals needed hair and claw trimmings, the rest were similarly intimate to the animals that they belonged to. At least they were separated by the classes, alphabetic, and had pictures attached. That would help loads.

He figured that if after twenty-four tries he hadn't succeeded in getting an animal form, he'd probably be not wanting to try his luck at the lottery in any form. Also, if he didn't get it by then, he decided that it would be time for him to give it up.

Pulling out a scrap piece of parchment, he started doodling while his mind meditated on what he'd just learned. After a few minutes of the peaceful meditation a strange thought crossed his mind, and he wrote out a question that'd been bugging him for a little while now. '_Do you think that we should get Prof. Flitwick to help us?_'

As he slid the paper over, he took a chance at listening to Professor Binns for a brief moment. However, after fighting off the wave of speech induced sleep that the professor sent to his mind, he decided to not attempt that again. At least not without at _least_ a few liters of espresso at the ready. Turning back to his book, he frowned in disgust over some of the ingredients on the list. As such he was more than happy when Hermione slid over the paper containing her answer. '_It would be risky to include him. Why?_'

'_He'd be a lot of help__, and we could start work on the comm-wands..._' Harry replied while keeping track of his place on the ingredients list with his other thumb. He really wanted to skip over this list, as it was quickly causing him to lose any possible interest in lunch. And if Madam Pomfrey caught him skipping a meal...

He covered the shiver that crept down his spine by sliding the message back to Hermione while Professor Binns droned on and on. _Seriously_, there was little to nothing that any of the students were learning in this class, save maybe how to catch up on sleep.

Two students however were reaping the benefits of staying awake in a class that people have been passing for years without even being awake during. Due to not succumbing to the soothing, monotone drone of the living impaired professor, they had worked hard to better themselves magically.

While they weren't the potion masters that the twins were, they were both holding down a solid Exceeds Expectations in potions, a feat made all the more remarkable by them not being in Slytherin. If it hadn't been for one accident with a sneeze while cutting a piece of root, they would actually be holding an Outstanding. Harry had yet to stop apologizing for it, even though Hermione had forgiven him almost three weeks previously for it.

After all, if it had been planned, blowing up a potion in Professor Snape's face would have been more than worth the 100 point deduction. As an accident it had been embarrassing.

But that deduction was nothing compared to what happened to Draco when his father sent Dumbledore a... Harry's mind was distracted by the note being passed back. '_Yes, he could. Ask twins at lunch?_'

Deciding to risk a visual response, he nodded with a happy smile on his face. It would seem that Hermione liked the idea as well. The prototype 'comm-wands' as they'd taken to calling the headset communication devices worked wonderfully. The voice was picked up superbly, and they could talk from one end of Hogwarts to the other with them.

So long as there was only one pair.

Adding a third set into the mix completely mucked up the set up, and created a very painful, ear-splitting noise that eventually shattered the third set. Either that or Harry succeeded in dropping his Unabridged History of Magic on it. Twenty-two kilos of heavily slanted ministry biased history would do short work of anything caught under it.

But he digressed; his mind turning back to what had happened during the first weekend, when he found out what a Howler was. A single red letter settled down in front of Professor Dumbledore, who took one look at the return address and sighed.

He called Draco up to the center of the hall, right in front of the staff table, where he pointed out calmly that he did not take kindly to people trying to usurp his authority at the school. Especially if they used their parents as a means to regain points lost due to a broken rule.

He then said that for every minute the Howler went on, he would take twenty-five points from Slytherin. Another twenty-five points for every time his teaching methods, character, or that of any other member of the school was insulted. And finally a full fifty points for going to his father, instead of trying to appeal to his better nature.

Ten minutes, and nearly two thousand points later, Dumbledore cast '_silencio_' on the letter which fell down to his plate to seethe angrily. He pointed out that there was an ancient school rule that if a student lost more points than his or her house could, as in this case where Draco had lost nearly four times the amount that Slytherin had, the points could be reduced to where the house had only ten points left, and then the student and his family could make up the difference in coins to the school's upkeep funds. Roughly a galleon per one-hundred points was the listed amount.

Those keeping score gasped at just how much Dumbledore was talking about. And the letter wasn't even nearly finished.

After breakfast, Draco was a distinctly pale shade of white under his blond hair. While he might be a good deal wiser now, his pocket book would never be the same again.

This morning had held a surprise in the form of Hedwig landing on his shoulder, dropping off a letter for Hermione and accepting a sausage in thanks. It was a bit awkward as Hermione gushed about her parents accepting him coming over, especially when he could read that they were practically begging her to bring him and the twins along. Awkward in that he wasn't sure why it seemed like they didn't think she'd have any friends.

Harry had gotten a letter from them as well, tucked neatly into the other envelope. He could even remember what he'd read verbatim as he had gone over it so many times he actually worried about his eyes wearing out the words.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Hermione has written to us about you, and as such we feel that there needs to be a couple ground rules to your visit. Firstly, there will be __**no**__ chores done by you or any guests we have, save possibly laundry of your own clothes. Also, in regards to the idea of not getting you any presents, you had better have a list ready for us when you arrive or my wife will constantly pester you for it. Trust me; she will never let it rest, and so it will be for the safety of the entire Wizarding (and muggle) world that you just give her the list._

_Now, due to the short time prior to Christmas that you will be arriving, we shall take a day to go shopping for gifts for the others, possibly a second if needed (you know what women are like)._

_Now this is going to sound quite odd, but is Hermione happy? I mean I know that she is excited to be at Hogwarts and learning so many new subjects... but is she __**happy**__?_

_Please send me a letter back as soon as you can._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Herman Granger _

Not only had he been wanted, but Hermione's father was asking him his opinion about her happiness. He wasn't entirely sure, but wasn't that like the greatest trust a bloke could get from a girl's father was to watch over his daughter? Once again he wished he had more to go on here than what little he gleaned from overhearing the TV programs that were constantly droning on at the Dursely's.

Hermione seemed to be enjoying herself too, and even took to relaxing in front of the fireplace with him, just talking about anything that had come to mind as they relaxed for the day. He couldn't say for sure that she was _happy_, but content seemed to be the right word to describe how she was.

He was about to read his book again, when he heard Professor Binns addressing the class. "For those that are awake, just turn in a piece of parchment reading '_I was awake in class today._' and ignore the assignment on the board."

The ghost then wrote up the required homework for everyone else: a twenty inch essay on the causes of the Goblin Wars of the 1400's. Harry turned to look at Hermione, to find her staring back at him in shock equal to his own. Apparently they had both heard the same thing. Professor Binns had given them lighter homework just for staying awake in his class. It might be possible that they were the first students to have heard him say that since he became a ghost all those years ago.

Then he was gone, with his parting came time for lunch.

Going about their usual routine of waking their classmates, the pair debated about informing them about the loophole. It was about the time that the fourth one grumbled about their nap being interrupted that they decided to just let them suffer. Hey if they were going to complain about being woken for lunch, then they weren't going to let them know about the way to avoid homework.

Lessons learned and all that – it was like pranking without needing to plan anything!

However the one thing that all were interested in was the event that was going to happen after lunch. What with the flying, the brooms, and then inevitable falls from epic heights…

Well actually only the first two occurred; with no rememberall being flung into the distance, Harry could instead focus on helping Hermione get her air-legs as it were. A couple laps around the pitch had Hermione more comfortable with her broom than she'd have ever thought possible, especially when Harry explained that to slow down all she had to do was sit back. She linked it to riding a horse like she had a few times on her family vacations, and started to smooth out her flight. True she never left two stories above the ground, but she felt better flying, and knew that as she continued training that she'd get more confident.

Now if only she could make the falling part less terrifying, or the accidental landings much less painful. In fact, the two of them were able to spend some time helping out Madam Hooch in coaching the other students that were struggling.

Towards the end of the class, Madam Hooch let the students go through a mild obstacle course, and it was at that moment that Harry really began to shine. Not only was he able to pull off turns that had the pureblood's blue eyes shining jade green with envy, but he also helped Hermione build up enough confidence to pull off a corkscrew through one set of goals.

What he didn't realize was that he was being watched. What foul, evil schemes could those dark eyes have for our young intrepid hero? What vile plots were being concocted being that grinning face?

Well… actually, it was just Professor Flitwick seeing a challenger for the seeker position on the Quidditch team this year. He really must thank the Weasley twins for alerting him to the potential star he had before him. If he could get both Harry and Hermione to try out, they could at least fill that interesting 'manager' position the twins had talked about.

He might just have to talk to the entire first year class about trying out. After all, he couldn't show favoritism to just one or two students, even with the promise they're showing. Turning away from the window he was watching from, he nodded to the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw in parting. It was about this time that he noticed she was lounging over the fire, reading a rather large book.

Not giving it a second thought, he went about setting up fliers to announce Quidditch tryouts coming up this weekend. It was so much easier now that the four students had cleaned up his store room, he could actually find his self-copying quill, so that he'd only have to write the message once, and then it would write up the rest with ease.

It was about the time that they made their fifth lap around the pitch while waiting for the obstacle course to open up that Harry and Hermione began talking to each other quietly at thirty miles per hour - Which basically meant they were shouting at each other, but no one else could understand them. "I really think those Comm-wands should be our first priority!"

Hermione seemed a bit confused before she brightened and gave the thumbs up. "Right, much easier to hear!"

Harry nodded and signaled for them to go lower, before pushing himself to within landing range of the ground and slowing down. "First priority, the Comm-wands, we might want to go with that throat mounted microphone, you were talking about earlier," Harry continued once they could hear each other without shouting themselves hoarse. "The wind will make it hard to hear with a microphone on the outside like I was originally thinking about..."

"This is good field data to learn before going further into the design phase..." Hermione agreed while committing the change to memory. A sticking charm should ensure that the parts remain in place, but they needed a way to adjust volumes on the fly, without wands, on both transmitters and receivers. "Want to go to Professor Flitwick after supper?"

"We should ask the twins first," Harry answered while they lapped the line up for the course, which was only marginally shorter than last time. "I think our lap times are improving Hermione... you're getting a lot better."

"I am?" Hermione asked blinking before looking back at the line, "I guess you're helping me from being afraid..."

The brilliant smile she gave Harry warmed him to the core. It made him feel that he could fly through the every hall in the school with a blindfold on. Was this what it meant to have a friend that could rely on him, and he knew that she would always be there for him? This was such an amazing magical feeling that he swore he could fly without the broom underneath him.

Not that he was going to try anytime soon…

"I think the twins might be agreeable about Professor Flitwick..." Hermione stated, bringing him back to the flight he was currently on, broom and all. "He seems to be more agreeable to our pranks, especially when they show a high degree of advanced magical knowledge. Take for instance the opening feast; do you know how the twins got everyone to go along with what they had me write out?"

"I've been trying to forget that night..." Harry grumbled under his breath, hoping that she wouldn't hear him. "No, I haven't Hermione, how?"

"They spiked the candy on the train," Hermione answered with a huge grin on her face. "They had a potion that they sprayed over the candy supplies, and it was linked to the scroll. They made the potion over summer, and it's several grade levels above what they're currently learning in class."

Harry nodded his head and swirled a barrel roll around Hermione while he thought about it. Potions were harder to track back to the magic user, unless they were sloppy in cleaning up. It was brilliant if one actually thought about it.

Lining up with her again, he smirked and leaned forward to give her a warning. "Last one around has to tell the twins."

With that, the two shot off as fast as their brooms would let them. Hermione's was faster in the straightaway, but with the turns they had to pull off, Harry actually kept almost dead even. The hardest part of the impromptu race was the fact that they had to weave through the others students that had been taking laps as well.

The fact that they joined in the race after being lapped just made it more interesting to the two in the lead. It seemed that there was a silent challenge in zipping past someone on a broom. The pair held the lead, primarily due to their momentum and the large gap that built up before the others reacted.

By the time they got to the queue for the course again, even Madam Hooch was caught up in racing fever, calling out for them to go faster.

Three such laps later, with Harry and Hermione coming in with a nearly dead heat for first, the bet was long forgotten, and the queue had been cleared. Hooch ordered the entire group to ground, and had them start putting up their assigned brooms back in the slots they had been resting in before class. "That was some impressive flying from all of you; I'm awarding Mister Potter and Miss Granger fifty points each for helping their fellow students."

As the cheers died down, Hooch pointed to the castle. "If there's no further questions, how about an early dismissal for dinner?"

"Is there a way for us to get more training?" Hermione chimed in before even the first student could turn to head inside. "I mean I know that first year students can't have broomsticks of their own, but what would we need to do if we wanted to fly more?"

"You just have to ask, my schedule is usually free and I love helping students earn their wings. Just ask the heads of your house to talk to me, and we'll set up a time," the hawk-like woman offered with a bright smile. "Why do you ask? You were flying brilliantly today for a first timer..."

"But I still have a fear of heights... I think getting more training on brooms can help me best… if..." Hermione admitted with a deep blush burning on her cheeks. "If it wasn't for Harry, I think I would have been too nervous to even leave where I could touch ground..."

"Oh... That makes sense... if you'd like I could set up an hour every week for extra lessons for you Ms. Granger..." Hooch offered while indicating for everyone else to head in. "Unless you want lessons yourselves, go on in to supper... if you want lessons stick around."

By the time the group had split, Madam Hooch had five students around her, including Harry, Hermione, and the quiet Su Li. "Mister Potter?" Hooch inquired, puzzled as to why he had remained.

"Oh... well I was hoping to help you out Madam Hooch... and well... I think I could get better by helping others..." Harry answered while scratching the back of his head, knowing that he was the odd one out of the group.

"That is admirable Mr. Potter, and I believe I could use your help... if your studies permit of course..."

"Of course," Harry agreed before letting her outline what she was thinking for a training program using their free Wednesday afternoons for meeting up to fly.

After the general agreement about the extra lessons, Hermione and Harry began walking to the school a bit behind a pair of boys from their year that were having trouble with flying. "Umm... Harry? Hermione? I... I was wondering..." a quiet voice asked them from behind, causing them both to pause mid-step and look back, to see Su who was holding one of her books close to her chest. "Excuse me... I-I'm Su Li... We talked before at dinner..."

"I remember," Hermione answered with a warm smile, "You were the one that told us about Ron..."

"Yes... well... I have a bit of a problem..." the Asian girl admitted while looking down in shame. "You see, I am struggling with some of the material... and I know as a Ravenclaw we're supposed to be intelligent..."

"Calm down Su... here let's sit over there," Harry tried to soothe her, pointing over to a secluded area of trees. Getting a nod out of the quiet spoken girl they walked over and settled in, with Madam Hooch keeping an eye on them as she tended to the Quidditch lockers a few feet away. "What's wrong?"

"It's... embarrassing... but I'm doing horribly in History of Magic..." Su admitted quietly while fidgeting under their gaze. "I just cannot stay awake during lectures, and... I... I struggle with reading English..."

"I see..." Hermione answered after a pregnant pause, while patting Su on the knee, in an attempt to get her to meet Hermione's warm eyes, and she slowly did, her timid eyes lifting slowly. "We'll help you out with that, meet us in the common rooms tonight after 8, and we'll go over it. Okay?"

"S...sure thing..." Su agreed with a blush and a slight bow of her head. "Thank you Hermione..."

"It's our pleasure... after all, we could be friends..." Harry offered with a smile of his own, causing the smaller girl to gasp in shock and look at Harry in awe. The adoration she was giving him made him rather uneasy. "Err... what?"

"You... you want to be friends?" Su asked in a quiet voice, "You... you are not just saying this to make me feel better?"

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Hermione cut in with a worried tone to her voice, there was something Harry-ish about how she was acting just now.

"W...Well... he is... The-Boy-Who-Lived... and you are the brightest witch in our grade... I... I'm just nobody..." Su answered with a quiet whimper as her eyes drifted down to the ground, and she began poking her forefingers together. "I... do not mean to be a bother..."

Harry and Hermione shared a look, one that said more to each other than voices ever could say. As one they stood up and offered a hand each to the shy girl. "Come on, let's get you to meet the twins before you decide to be friends with us," Hermione started when Su's hand slipped into hers.

Harry picked up as they helped her to her feet and began walking the girl in. "Quite right, after all... They just might choose to be your friends too."

If Su had any inkling about what she was about to get sucked into, she would have gone running and screaming into the afternoon sunlight. As she didn't she just walked with her two new possible friends. After all, if Harry and Hermione were this nice, how bad could these twins possibly be?

How bad at all…?


	14. Tempting Fate and OctoPotions

Few short notes before the story. **AN1: **siu yeh is an overnight snack or meal in the Hong Kong area. If there are other terms, just let me know. **AN2:** Please stop by my forums at http:/ magi-tower . forum-free . net for more fun and excitement. **AN3**: Finally, anyone that proves to me that they read the notes I write by leaving a review using the word "balderdash" properly in a sentence will get a free sneak peek into the next chapter.  


* * *

If there is one thing learned at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is this one simple lesson: _**Never, **_**ever**_** tempt fate.**_ Unfortunately the only way to learn this lesson is to actually experience it for yourself, as Su-Li was finding out. Seating herself next to Harry, she couldn't help but feel dozens of eyes turning on her, scrutinizing her every action as she politely ordered some Char siu over rice, and a dish of Sai mai lo of medium thickness.

When she first came, it had surprised her with the sheer variety of foods available to her, but for some reason, after the first evening meal she found herself reverting back to things her mother would make. She had also grown to really miss siu yeh, but it just didn't feel right asking for special favors from the elves that she knew to be serving her that late at night.

But right now, she wanted to know about the twins who sat opposite her, studying her with an almost casual interest. It was only when Hermione spoke that the silence was broken. "Su Li, meet the twins Fred and George. Gred, Forge: this is Su Li, be nice."

"Why Harmony, that cuts us to the quick it does, as though..." Fred started dramatically, putting his head to his hand with a body racking fake sob.

His twin seemed to favor putting a hand to his forehead, and looking ready to faint in the slightest breeze. "After all we've done for each other, do you really not trust us to behave?"

As one the twins looked at each other, then at the two people on either side of Su, and finally at each other again. As one they turned with a sheepish pair of smiles, and stated in unison, "Don't answer that, there's too much evidence on your side."

Pulling out a pair of chopsticks, Su began eating her meal slowly. Turning slightly in her seat, she smiled warmly at Hermione, while she could hear Harry and the twins talking about something called comm-wands, and bringing in Professor Flitwick in on the project. "Hermione... I... we are going to meet about eight, right? D... Do you think that will be enough to work on my problem?"

Hermione lowered her forkful of spaghetti before seeming to give the question serious consideration. A slight shake of her head later, she sighed softly. "I'm afraid that it will be more likely just a start. But I'm sure that we'll make excellent progress as the year progresses."

"Oh... I... I knew that it would not be a quick fix, but I did not realize it would take that long..." Su answered while looking down at her food sadly. It felt horrid being the only Ravenclaw that wasn't fluent in English, and it had really been a huge blow to her pride that she had to ask for help in the first place. After all, she was the first in her family to not be a martial artist. She thought when she was accepted into the school, that she wouldn't feel like such a failure.

But it had been a full week now, and she couldn't read the assignments without getting a headache. It was just so difficult translating what was being said, and History of Magic was the worst, as she had to spend half her time reading a map to figure out where things happened. And now she was wishing she'd stayed back in Hong Kong with her best friend Hua Fu. They had planned to go up through middle school together, and try to stay together through high school too. But then Su had to go and awaken her magic, making her have to keep such a major secret from her best friend.

"Su, I know this is a touchy subject, but... are you used to Chinese more than English?" Harry asked curiously, while stirring his chicken noodle soup slowly. "I mean can you read Chinese better than English?"

"Yes... I grew up learning Chinese, my parents run a dojo and most of the lessons are done in Mandarin," Su explained with a small smile as she felt herself warming up to Harry. "As my parents and family only spoke Mandarin at home, I never spent much time learning English..." Lowering her voice, she poked her rice with her chopsticks quietly as she continued, "As my grades showed..."

She hoped no one asked about her grades, as they were a major problem with her parents. She'd always struggled with English, and they always wanted her to be the best. And most of her grades were, it was just English that was the bane of her existence. "But when I found out I was to be going to an English speaking school, I practiced a lot..."

"Well you're good at conversational English…" Hermione mused for awhile before a devious little smirk played over her lips. "Perhaps learning a little Mandarin wouldn't be bad for us..."

"Right you are 'Mione," Harry answered with a wider smirk appearing on his face, one that Su couldn't help but wonder about the nature of. Sliding her gaze sideways, her worries tripled after finding identical smirks on the twins as well. "But first things first, twins... what do you think of being friends with Su?"

"I don't know Harry... she doesn't look like she has the knack we're looking for..." George... or was it Fred... stated while eying her critically. Oh great, here it was again, the judging stares, the evaluations, the gentle pat on her head?

She must have missed something here, for the other twin smiled warmly at her, patting her head again. "Don't let him fool you, you're in."

"Besides, the knack we're looking for is a perfectly innocent partner in crime..." the first one explained while shrugging his shoulders and sighing heavily. "Anyhow, we know what it's like not being the bright shining stars that they're expecting of Ravenclaws... see... we're a year older than our classmates."

That was a major bomb apparently, to judge from the confused looks on Harry and Hermione's faces. After a moment's thought, she figured that it would have been a major deal at her old school to be held back a year, and being in the smart house probably made that worse. "I do not understand... why are you not in the same classes as others of your year?"

"That would be our fault..." Fred... or maybe George... answered while the other chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Hermione leaning in, probably to hear better. "See, Gred and I got so excited to start at Hogwarts that we sorta broke into our older brother's trunks... snatched up some potion ingredients and started mixing them together..."

"But that could have done any number of things, including..." Hermione cut in with a worried tone to her voice, as Harry's eyes widened nervously. Apparently they realized the same dangers that she did, after all, a lot of those warnings on the ingredients she'd bought had been in Mandarin Chinese as well as English, and the sheer number of risks written on them was enough to make her double-check everything she did.

"Exactly, we were blasted into the next room, and spread a cloud of knockout gas that had us out for six months... when we woke up at St. Mungo's... mum..." Forge continued, before cutting himself off with a slightly nervous look, and a quick glance to Harry. Even as she turned her head to see what was up, some dark, hidden emotion played out in Harry's eyes before he nodded for them to continue. "Well mum wasn't too happy with us, and after we spent the next month cleaning and repairing that level of the house, it was too late to try and catch up with the rest our age, so instead we opted to stay out for the year, and read our books... especially after mum grounded us until the new school year."

"She only left the books my dear Forge," Gred added with a lecturer's tone and a finger shake. "She also said if we ever did that again, then she would take us both and break out wands over our heads..."

"So of course, the first thing we did after getting back last year was to set up a potions lab, with tons of security and precautionary measures to keep us from blowing ourselves to bits."

At first it had been a little squeak from Su, that turned into a giggle, and finally she was laughing, joined in by Harry and Hermione. So there was the little fact that she wasn't completely alone in laughter, and judging by the twins chuckling along with the other three, they weren't even mad. It felt natural to be here, almost like being back with Hua Fu...

After dinner, Harry and Hermione took a direct path back to the tower, to gather their notes, diagrams, and prototypes, including the flattened remains of the third comm-wand. While they were doing this, the twins and Su went off somewhere to presumably to get to know each other better. After gathering the necessary components, they politely knocked on the teacher's door inside the tower.

A little known fact about the doors to the teacher's quarters inside the towers is that they send a signal to the teacher in question when a person touches them. For each teacher it's a different type of signal, but they all work pretty much the same way. They gain the attention of the teacher inside or out of their quarters upon a knocking of their door. For Professor Flitwick, the signal is a gentle vibration of a wooden disc in a special pocket in his robes.

A curious occurrence should be noted in the pages of Hogwarts: A History is that one of the previous teachers failed to heed the headmaster's advice about making it a subtle alert, instead choosing to go with an outlandish idea that occurred after imbuing too much Butterbeer the night prior. Never let it be said that George 'Falsetto' Kingston couldn't take a blow, but sadly after a year the DADA teacher had to take medical leave in order to save his reproductive abilities.

A short while later, and Professor Flitwick arrived from the main entrance, unlocking his office door with a wave of his hand and indicating for them to proceed him in. The office was very much like the storage room that they had cleaned previously. They could almost feel the age of the items in here bearing down on them and their little curiosities.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I'm so glad that you two are willing to talk with me about things, how may I help you?" the diminutive professor asked while stroking his mustache in thought. He remained silent as the pair set out their wooden assemblies on his desk, and a stack of papers with rolled up scrolls on top beside them. Looking at the flatter of the trio, he chuckled softly. "I take it that they are still in the prototype phase?"

"Yes sir... you see, we were working on these with the twins for use on the Quidditch team, but..." Hermione started, before trailing off and indicating the flattened unit.

"And what... pray tell are these?" the professor asked, picking up one of the more functional models. "I see... basic runes for transmitting and receiving, but what do they transmit? And how does one use these?"

Harry picked up the other working prototype, slipping it onto his head with practiced ease before sliding a piece of wood into position to complete the rune-set. Hermione coached the teacher through the process, putting it on his head and adjusting the pieces so they were in proper position. While this was happening, Harry went to the far corner of the room, and faced away from the professor. Whispering softly he asked, "Can you hear me professor?"

The effect was nearly instantaneous on the part-goblin professor, causing his eyes to snap open and face the backside of Harry properly. "Why yes, yes I can Mr. Potter..."

"That's good... because that is what these are designed for... however you add a third one into the loop and..." Harry whispered conspiratorially, causing Hermione to roll her eyes and sigh heavily at the dramatics. "We're not entirely sure what happened, but the twins theorized a magical feedback loop."

Switching off his unit the professor pulled it off and began taking a closer look at the device, his eyes turning sharp and focused on the devices. "I think I see the problem..."

Harry rejoined Hermione, sharing the curious look on her face as they peered at the devices, wondering what they and the twins had missed in their construction. After a minute of inspecting the two working prototypes, the mustached man pulled over the scroll and unraveled it enough to see that it was the blueprints before spreading it out on the desk and tracing the various lines. "Marvelous... and to think this is first and second year students... how surprising..."

"Oh my, they did a good deal of research on that part... and why did they do... oh that's why..." Flitwick continued to mutter as he continued tracing lines and components of their spell work. When he got to the list of potion ingredients on the side, he frowned in confusion until he finished it and chuckled. "AHA! So that is how they got the wood to work properly... soaked it in wand preparation solution..."

"Err... Professor? Have... have you found where the signal feedback is happening?" Hermione interjected after a few minutes of his mutterings.

"Huh? Oh yes, yes, sorry, but I believe it is a rather basic problem..." Flitwick answered while tapping one of the running notes on the edge of the plans. "Here you said that you made sure to utilize the same sample of milk from a fire crab's flame sack, to ensure cohesion of signals... sadly that means you only have the single signal to travel on... If you can find a family of crabs, you will get a good twenty or thirty signals to work with..."

"Really? I hardly expected it to be so simple," Hermione started as she scratched out the answer on the back of one of her previous notes. Harry watched silently as he traced the lines that still confused him half the time, thankfully Hermione and he were confused on opposite halves of the complex pattern. "I thought we would have to rework the rune matrix, or possibly add in a limiter, but that would cause trouble when we go further away from each other..."

"Yes... that's true..." Flitwick answered while studying Harry's actions. "What troubles you Mr. Potter?"

"It's just... we talked about adjusting the volume of the sending and receiving voices, since people are likely to be shouting during the game... and we can't use wand magic... so a voice activated command would be best..." Harry stated quietly while rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I mean... I think it would... if we use obscure codewords for them to raise or lower, maybe have them have to touch the earpiece for the listening volume, while the mouthpiece for speaking strength..."

"Astute thinking Mr. Potter... very astute indeed... I must say that you four have surprised me with this..." the chocolate eyed man stated with a twinkle in his eyes as he looked over the prototypes again. "And you countered the wind's interference by using the scoop design around the reception area..."

At the blank look from Harry and Hermione, he held up the broken unit's microphone arm and indicated the end which was settled over a mouth usually. Turning it over he showed them the bowl like depression one of the twins had added to make it look cooler, and they let out a little chuckle. "Actually Professor... that was an accident..." Hermione explained. "Fred thought it would look better..."

"Oh, was it now? Interesting... very good work all together," Flitwick mused shortly with a beaming smile on his face. "If you'd like I can take a look over your notes, plans, and prototypes and see if I have other suggestions to make... perhaps by the end of next month we will have enough for the Quidditch team..."

"Of course Professor!" Hermione gushed happily while Harry smiled shyly from behind her. "Thank you so much Professor, for everything..."

"I will require assistance in crafting the..." here he paused to look at the name at the top of the blueprints, "Comm-wands, was it? Yes... perhaps the four of you could spend some time over the weekends..."

"I'll be there," Harry answered for the first time with a force behind his conviction. It felt weird, but he wanted to work on this, to learn more about the strange and magical world he'd fallen into by adding just a small piece to it. "Just tell me when sir..."

"We'll be there Harry, I'm sure the twins will, and Su Li might like to observe..." Hermione corrected while smiling back at the bespectacled boy. "We should get ready for the tutoring session..."

"Tutoring? Are you having troubles?" Flitwick asked curiously while looking between the two. "But both of you are at the top of your year..."

The two blushed at the compliment before Hermione explained the situation with Su's English, feeling that the head of their house ought to know if a student is struggling. "I see... that is not the first time, and yes, I believe you have the right of it, working with her will speed up her adaptation to the written English language."

"Thank you Professor... but please don't bring it up to her... she is rather sensitive about it..." Harry explained while he and Hermione stood by the door. His smile took on a warm tone as the Professor nodded his understanding. "Thank you Professor..."

"You're welcome... oh and if you see the twins, please inform them that they are to receive 100 points each for their work on this... and both of you also gain another 50 points on top of that for helping your fellow student..." the man stated with a wide smile, which only grew wider as the pair took on a shocked, stunned, gape mouth stare. At their nod, he waved them out.

"T...thank you sir..." Hermione offered as she exited, leaving Harry remaining behind.

"Sir... if... if there is a need to purchase supplies for the Comm-wands, I... I would like to help... b...but I'd have to contact Gringotts about how much I can access..." Harry explained shutting the door partially. "I... I was wondering if there was a proper way to write the goblins sir..."

"Oh... of course you wouldn't have been taught that... I'll set aside some time to help you write a letter, and some basics of Goblin etiquette... How does next Wednesday afternoon sound?" Flitwick offered with a warm smile as he walked over and patted Harry on the upper back.

"Thank you sir, it really means a lot to me..." Harry answered with a smile of his own, especially when he fought down the instinctive urges to shy away from the physical contact.

"Of course, I am glad to help."

Harry stepped out of the office, and found Hermione setting up the study area, but strangely noticed a lack of Su, who had always seemed to be a punctual type. It wasn't until she and the twins ran into the common rooms and slammed the door behind them that he realized what happened. "She a Rebel yet?" Harry asked across the empty room.

"She has one upped you Harry me boy... she managed to use the octo-potion on Draco!" Fred proclaimed, slinging an arm around the poor girl who was blushing so hard that Harry worried she was going to ignite.

"I... I... I never thought I would see that outside of my brother's magazines..." Su stated in a haunted voice while shivering and holding her shoulders as if to ward herself from danger.

That brought the festive mood of the other Rebels to a screeching halt, each one turning to look at Su curiously before deciding to leave that particular subject for another day. Hermione futzed with the material, while Harry walked over by her. The twins gently pushed her over towards the table, and sat the still shell-shocked girl down in a chair, before saying something about getting some tea from the kitchens.

It was Rowena that finally broke the awkward silence. "I feel sorry for the potion..."

The giggles coming from Su at that were rather infectious, as Harry and Hermione soon joined in with laughter of their own.

Meanwhile, down in the dungeons Draco dragged himself into the Slytherin common room with a whimper. "I... I... I need a cuddle..."

_**Omake: The Octo Potion**_

Fred and George were grinning widely as they dragged their newest partner through the school while shooting back and forth ideas. "Jaw-busters?"

"Not hardened enough yet... how about the oil slick hall?" George shot back as they rounded a corner. Finding a straight stretch of hall that could allow them to slide down the entire length of it without any real problems.

"Did that last week, they'll start warding against it if we do it too often., how about the Octo-potion?" Fred countered finally catching Su's attention.

"Octo-potion? Do... do I want to know?" Su asked hesitantly, knowing that the answer was probably no, but she was about to find out anyhow. The sinking feeling she got about it only worsened as they pulled out a jar filled with oily blackness, sealed up to the gills with warning labels, that they removed gleefully.

"No Su, all you need to do is find a non-Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff to open this, and then get to a minimum safe distance... we'll be standing at it so you'll know..." Fred explained while holding out the container carefully to the girl that pulled away cautiously.

George put a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a gentle squeeze. "You don't have to, but it'd be easier for you to do it..."

"I... I get to pick target?" Su asked carefully as she debated the dangers she was facing right now. The name Octo-potion didn't sound promising, but she felt she could trust the twins to defend her should anything go wrong. Carefully she held the container the same way that Fred had been offering it to her.

"As long as they aren't Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff..." George answered with a wide smile as he patted her shoulder lightly. "It's one of our few rules that we always try to follow."

"Y... yes..." Su stated while she turned the final corner before trying to find a target. The Hufflepuffs under the first arch were completely out of the question, as were those girls that had been teasing her about her slow reading in the bathrooms, since they were Ravenclaws. Maybe she could ask for an exception for them.

That's when she saw him, the perfect target. He was pushing his way through the Hufflepuffs, and insulting them for being in his way when he was walking. The green and silver of his tie confirmed his Slytherin status, and his greased back platinum blonde hair told her exactly who it was. As if the two meat-heads 'guarding' him didn't already. Draco Malfoy, and this was the perfect opportunity to get him.

Walking over, she shyly tried to get his attention, until finally she was directly in front of the trio, looking at her feet nervously. "D...Draco Malfoy? I... my friend a...asked me to give this to you..." she offered while holding out the container. "It... it is a s...special order potion from t...the stylist Madame DuClair's Salon..."

"And why didn't your friend bring it to me?" Draco demanded with a snort, knowing that this mudblood wasn't worth his ire.

"S...she is shy... an... and does not speak much English... so she asked me to help..." Su lied shifting nervously while holding out the potion to him nervously. "P...please accept her feeling."

One of the goons, she thought she remembered him being named Goyle took the potion while the other Crabbe leaned in to look closely. "It looks like it'll last you the month Draco..."

"Very well... let's just make sure it doesn't stink or something..." Draco answered with a sneer, before waving Su away, which she gratefully accepted. A short bow later, and she was running away, acting like a girl that had just confronted her crush.

"Think she likes you..." Crabbe suggested before he levered open the jar. The second the airtight seal was breached, many things happened at once. First the eight large slithering tentacles shot out, and lashed themselves around the first target they came in contact with, this just happening to be Draco. Second the jar was dropped to the ground by a shocked Goyle, causing the potion inside to be splattered over the area.

Third, the puddles of potion began to sprout tentacles of their own, eight each. Ranging in size from inch thick to thinner than a sheet of toilet paper. Fourth, these each clung to one of the Slytherin trio as soon as they could. Fifth, the screams of all the other students caused the poor tentacles to react in a strange way.

They tore off clothing and began trying to pry into any openings they could find in order to hide from a presumed predator. Up until this point Su didn't so much as look back, still running full tilt to rejoin the twins. However, as she joined them, she couldn't help but grow curious as they watched over her shoulders. The curiosity got worse when they tried to stop her from looking back.

"Don't look Su... it's not worth it..." Fred offered while carefully pulling her away.

"That which hath been seen..." George intoned, with haunted eyes.

Fred took a moment, but he eventually was able to find presence of mind to finish the saying. "Cannot be unseen..."

She should have known better, honestly she should have. But her curiosity had always been one of her weak suits, and so when she glanced over her shoulder as they were running away, there was only one person in all of the Magical World she could really blame. Herself.

It was at that moment that she vowed never to touch an Octo-potion again.


	15. Stars, Songs, and Late Nights

Bonus content will be posted on the forum, if you want the address indicate so in your review. Otherwise, enjoy the story and let me know what I'm doing write, and wrong.  


* * *

It was a cool and crisp autumn night on top of the astronomy tower, where the trio of first years were trying to figure out the constellation maps and star names with the barest sliver of light coming from the moon. The rest of the class had been struggling with the same problem for over an hour now, as they couldn't have any light on the parapet as it would obscure the stars.

After the fifth attempt at moving the paper just enough to catch what little light came from the waning moon, Harry had to admit defeat and rub his strained eyes. Thinking about it, he found himself wondering why they couldn't have hooded lanterns of something to light up the words on the page. They'd be low enough to not obstruct the stars, but still bright enough to allow them to read the pages easily.

As he was musing about lighting up the words, an idea struck him. Looking around, he glanced over the struggling students surrounding them, before finally catching sight of the dark skinned astronomy professor Aurora Sinistra. Getting her attention in the dark wasn't easy, but he managed to get her to come over and lean down so he could whisper his plan in her ear.

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a look of pride on the stern instructor's face before she leaned out of his visual range. A quick flick of her left hand and her wand touched his paper, and gradually the ink of his texts began to emit a muted green hue like that of those 'glow-in-the-dark' stickers he'd gotten once from a teacher back in primary school for helping her to move a stack of books.

"Thank you Professor Sinistra..." Harry thanked her softly, before moving his paper so his two female friends could read from it as well.

"You're welcome Mister Potter..." the professor replied before turning away and heading to repeat the procedure for other groups of students. "For being the first student of your year to figure it out... 20 points to Ravenclaw."

As the soft, muted murmurs of mirth rippled through the others, Harry realized that he had inadvertently gotten Ravenclaw out from the second lowest position in the running for the House Cup, the only house higher than them being Gryffindor. Even if he knew that it wasn't worth anything aside from bragging rights and a party, it felt good to be back in the race for it, and having been the one to do so. Leaning in he found Su Li and Hermione grinning back at him.

"Good thinking Harry, this will make it a lot easier now..." Hermione whispered, before pointing to a set of constellations. "This looks like Cygnus, Lyra, and Sagitta... Let's see if we can't find them."

Nearly as one, the trio got to their telescopes and pointed them towards the West, searching carefully for the trio of constellations that Hermione had suggested. Spotting a group of stars, he slowly traced them with his eyes, comparing them to what was on the map. Gradually a smile slipped onto his face as he found the right set, and took time to enjoy the beauty of the night sky, despite the chill in the air. There was no denying that the season was creeping alone, as the nip in the air playfully turned his breath into puffs of white.

After nearly two hours, the trio had their maps nearly completed of constellations, and were looking for the final few remaining on the list. Pegasus and Cassiopeia were both on the Eastern most edge of the sky, but a few minutes of scanning netted them Pegasus, and with it the star Andromeda. Hermione explained that tracking north from Andromeda would get them Cassiopeia, and then their hunt would be finished.

Sure enough, they found the group of stars that looked like a giant 'W', hanging in the night's sky just a short trek north. Jotting down their telescope's declination and ascension, from the handy little dials on the sides of the knobs, the trio smiled as they heard soft footsteps approaching them. Professor Sinistra took their assignments and gave them leave to spend the rest of class stargazing and talking quietly as long as they didn't disturb the others.

Leaving out Harry's lit map, they were able to see as they rolled up the other scrolls, and collapsed the telescopes. Using the cases as backrests, they leaned against the tower wall and silently watched the sky for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet tranquility of the night. After all, being a Rebel, especially when you hang out with the twins all the time meant that one had to savor what little silence they could get.

After a few minutes, Harry pulled out his wand and cast one of the first spells they learned outside of their classes. As the noises from the rest of the class faded away, the trio smiled wider before talking in their newly erected bubble of silence. "This is nice..." Harry commented softly while looking up at the stars.

"Yeah... just remind me to bring a blanket in case we finish early again..." Su added, rubbing her hands together to try and warm them up. She was easily the smallest of the group, and so seemed to be affected by the cold the easiest. "Did you happen to catch the name of the spell she cast?"

"I think it was Lumos Lacuna..." Hermione suggested as she slipped her hands into her sleeves. "Looks like a useful spell if one's reading at night..."

"Add it to the list?" Harry asked, referring to the scroll of spells the Rebels were hoping to learn before the end of the year. Several of them had been crossed out, and normally they were given priority based on their importance to the wants of the Rebels, and future usefulness. This particular one Harry thought would rank at about two.

"I think so..." Su chimed in before blowing on her hands to try and warm them up. "I believe that Latin would be a good language to learn, yes?"

"Yeah..." Harry mused, mentally fitting it to the other list. This one was far shorter, but it was a just as important to the group. Languages that they could converse in without risking being translated would be wonderfully useful. Especially if they could mix and match words to suit their needs. It would sound like nothing comprehensible to the listeners, but to them it would be as clear as day.

This list actually had only a handful of languages, amongst those found on that scroll currently hidden in the bottom of Hermione's trunk; Mandarin and Gobbledygook were the highest priority. The first was so that they could talk in a language that Su was more comfortable with, or at least know how to help her translate to English. The other was added by the twins, pointing out that it would be considered polite by the Goblins to at least know formal greetings and minor conversational phrases.

One that had Harry nervous about was called Parseltongue, but only because it was _supposedly_ a sign of being a dark wizard. It was added to the list by Hermione to try and dispel that notion, while also giving them another language most everyone else shouldn't be able to understand. However, the group realized that that language probably needed a spell to help non-native speakers be able to articulate the words correctly.

The main reason for the others even knowing about his ability was because of a discussion about what accidental magic they experienced before coming to school. There was two different outcomes of this conversation, one being that the use of wandless magic was possibly more natural than using a wand, and that Parseltongue might have non-vocal components to it, or at the least sub-vocal components that humans couldn't hear or mimic naturally.

The second part came about when they began trying to learn the language with simple phrases. Even if they copied it perfectly to the others hearing, much of what the others said sounded like nothing more than gibberish to Harry.

Speaking of their language projects, Harry pulled the prototype Comm-wand out of his robes and slipped them on, activating it with as smooth a motion as possible. As he flicked the activator rune, he wondered if the twins had gone to bed yet, instead of staying up like they'd insisted they would. It was when Fred's voice came over, "Nǐ hǎo Hu," that he found out they had indeed stayed up. "Cómo están Sarry y Harmony?"

"Guten Morgen Forge," Harry answered calmly with a slight smirk to his face, before he grew confused and translated the last part a few times, trying to remember the correct response. "Ils sont très bien aussi, merci."

"How's it going Harry?" Fred asked in English, showing Harry that he'd passed the test they'd set up to verify who each other was. It would be simple for someone to copy, but only if they'd heard both sides of the conversation. Otherwise it would be hard to understand the questions being asked. The other security measure was that the phrases were only used within a sphere of silence with the comm-wands.

"We're done with the classwork, and just sitting around waiting for the end of class... thought I'd check in on you two, see how the project was going," Harry answered while Hermione and Su played a game of hangman with spare parchment.

"Pretty good, we found some helpful leads on the Parseltongue spell," Fred responded with a chuckle as the sound of a parchment scroll was rolled up on the other end. "Got something to add?"

"Yeah, we're thinking of adding Latin to the languages to learn... probably help with making spells... also Lumos Lacuna for a spell to learn. It lights up the words on a page of paper..." Harry explained.

"Ah, so that's the spell Professor Sinistra lit up the words... one of our classmates asked, and got some points for Gryffindor..." the twin stated with a sigh. "But I'm guessing your class didn't get the chance, did you?"

"Actually... I earned us twenty points for asking her to light the words up..." Harry countered sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, it's looking like class is wrapping up. Want to meet in the common room with the others before bed?"

"Sure thing Harry," Fred stated before a yawn interrupted him. "Sorry about that... we'll have to make it quick."

"That's fine... tomorrow we're working on the comm-wands with Professor Flitwick," Harry reminded the red-head with a smile. Not that he didn't already know, but it just felt like the right thing to say.

"No problem, we'll be ready... Laters"

Harry heard the disconnection click from Fred's end before he flicked his own switch back to the off position and slipped it into his robes again. Without removing his hand from his robes, he canceled the silence spell, just in time to hear the professor announce, "That's all for today students. Have a five inch essay on a constellation of your choice ready for start of class tomorrow."

After the class had packed up, and everyone had formed a nice, orderly line two people wide, Professor Sinistra began leading the group down towards their common rooms. After a few mishaps involving cases whacking the legs of the person in front of them, most of the students borrowed from the military and rested their cases against their shoulders, while the other end sat in their palms. It seemed to help a good deal, as no one was sent sprawling down the stairs, and a quiet song began to grow from the front, trickling back and gaining in volume.

Harry almost chuckled when the students began to do some sort of dance to the song, snapping fingers and shuffling their feet. It was shortly into the second reprise when he heard a muggle-born boy singing the lyrics. Who knew that the Wizarding World would appreciate Do-Wah-Diddy?

As they wound their way through the castle, it surprised Harry that they made it through two more songs before arriving at the common rooms. Especially when he thought it took only five minutes to make it up to the astronomy tower. It was as everyone slowly filed into the portal that he caught a tiny smirk play across the professor's lips. It had been the music that caused them to go on the long route; the professor seemingly had taken them on the scenic route just to enjoy the marching songs they had come up with.

Maybe Hermione should take another shot at writing music...

Heck, if it didn't mean him being the focal point, he'd even offer to help. It looked like fun when it wasn't targeted at you out of the blue like that. And if they could make a marching song that was easy to remember, and most of all fun to march to, they'd probably get some points for the house. Which would counter act some of what they were likely to lose over the years at the rate they were going...

Long term planning was a blessing and a curse sometimes.

As the last ones into the common rooms; Harry, Hermione, and Su each had an easy time slipping to the side and making their way over by the fireplace where the twins awaited. If the blankets and mugs of steaming hot chocolate were any indication, they knew that the young students needed to warm up. Harry hesitated to take a mug, knowing that his stomach had gotten stronger, but uncertain if it was up to such sweets. He really didn't want to be up for hours on end because he misjudged his recovery.

In the end it was a nudge from Fred's hand that had him curling around a mug, inhaling the warming vapors pleasantly. The same twin leaned over to whisper into Harry's ear. "It's alright mate, Madam Pomfrey says that the cocoa would be fine, and probably better than warming up under a blanket for you."

Though it caused him to blush until his ears turned red, he did have to admit that he appreciated someone looking out for him. However, George's comment from his other side as he took a sip of the hot liquid wasn't quite as well received, as the commenter ended up wearing most of the mouthful instead. "Although... if you were to share a blanket with the girls... that might help more..."

"George stop picking on the poor lad," Hermione ordered with a slight glare, though there was certainly a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she watched George wipe his face clear of the chocolaty drink.

Apparently Fred wasn't on his twin's side, as he agreed with Hermione. "Aye George me boy, you should know better than that... save it for when we can say it out loud... unless Harry doesn't-"

"NO! I mean... let's just talk about something else for now..." Harry stated frantically, trying desperately to divert the attention he was gaining. A flick of his wand later and the sounds of the room faded away, which Harry could only hope happened just as quickly to the blush he knew he was sporting. "I told you guys about the additions we made to the lists... Hermione will you add them to the lists when you get to your room?"

"Sure thing Harry..." Hermione replied warmly, sipping her drink while her eyes watched him calmly. Next to her Su was watching everything with a curious look on her face.

After a couple seconds it seemed that she couldn't hold it in any further, and decided to ask what was burning on her mind. "H...Harry... if you do not mind... could you answer a question that has been troubling me?"

Blinking slowly, he looked at the blank looks on the others, seeing that they were surprised as well. So rather than putting her on the spot, he sighed and leaned against his knees. "Go ahead Su... I... I'll try to answer..."

"Thank you... I know that I am overly curious according to some... but I have noticed you acting oddly... in particular around meal times..." Su explained, getting dawning looks of comprehension on the faces of her fellow Rebels, save Harry, who seemed to dread what was coming next. "I hope it is not so... but... Were you previously not allowed food?"

Harry knew that the looks the others shot him at that moment answered her question, but his own face had taken a pained look to it. Setting down his mug he rubbed a hand over his face, trying to ease it back into something more neutral, and mask the tears that were forming at the edges of his eyes. "The others know everything, and if you want the full story, I beg you to ask them... but the short answer is yes… However, the authorities have been alerted, and the matter is being resolved..."

Harry expected many things at that point. From awkward silence, to pity filled words of sympathy. One thing he didn't expect was actually something he'd longed to have for many years. A simple hug, in some ways more magical than all the centuries of Hogwarts combined. Su's soft whispers were in Mandarin but the feelings they conveyed were as clear to Harry as if sung out by a heavenly choir in perfect English.

As she parted from him, he caught sight of the reddened eyes with tears of their own rolling out. It was just as she reclaimed her spot that he realized that he hadn't even attempted to pull away from the hug. True he hadn't hugged her back, but it was a step in the right direction correct? Not flinching from physical contact that is.

"Sorry... I... I know that it is hard for you to speak of it... a... a classmate of mine suffered similarly in my younger grades..." Su said brokenly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I cannot, nor hope to ever understand fully the pain you have felt... but I wish you to know that I will by you stand for as long as I may..."

"Thank you Su..." Harry answered while the other Rebels took the moment to study some of the interesting architecture surrounding them. "But... I think we should move on... Hermione, Su... why don't you two tell the twins what happened on the walk over?"

Harry enjoyed a sip of his cocoa as the two girls explained the musical march of their trip down from the tower. He'd nearly managed to drain the mug by the time they got to their arrival at the dorms, and that was the moment he chose to strike. "I was thinking that we should create a marching song..."

"Oh... nice one Harry... that would make it a lot more interesting when we're walking all over the place..." George answered with a wicked smile on his face, his twin mirroring it with one of his own.

"And if we make it catchy enough... we could have all the students of Hogwarts singing it in the halls between classes, without using potions..." Fred agreed with a laugh, Hermione seemed to already be plotting out the song, as she had a deep thoughtful look on her face. Su on the other hand was squirming nervously.

"I... I am not good at singing..." Su admitted sheepishly while scratching a finger against her cheek.

"That's the beauty of it..." Harry started before pausing to sip the last dregs of his cocoa quietly. It was definitely settling well on his stomach, he'd have to thank the twins later for asking Pomfrey first.

"If you join in..." Fred added while looping an arm over Su's shoulder, being joined by his brother a second later.

"No one will notice your voice..." George commented while studying his nails on his free hand calmly.

"After all, there are several others that can't sing that well either," Hermione finished for the group, patting Su on top of the head like a little kid. Harry smiled widely behind his mug as Su began laughing brightly at the antics of the others. They eventually settled down into a plotting circle, working out designs for the week to come. The first thing on the list was the meeting with Professor Flitwick after lunch to work on the comm-wands.

It wasn't until the next morning when a hammering noise sounded that they realized they had passed out in the common rooms around their various notes. Harry was the first to come to full awareness, practically leaping off the chair he'd been curled up in. Turning his head, he saw Flitwick putting the final taps on an announcement about the Quiddich tryouts next weekend. Rousing the twins the rest of the way, he indicated the sign silently, getting a large grin from them. After all, they'd been telling him and the girls that they should try out.

The poster removed one of their final objections.

_**ATTENTION RAVENCLAWS:**_

**In one week's time there will be tryouts for the Quidditch team, as you may or may not know all grade levels are welcome to join their house teams. In addition to the regular positions, and the primary team, there will be a new non-flying position allowed on the field. Also, please note that the numbers on the positions listed below are correct.**

**Positions being tried out for:**

**Keeper: 2**

**Chasers: 6**

**Beaters: 4**

**Seeker: 2**

**Managers: 2**

**I hope to see many people showing up for the tryouts. Thank you.**

**Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House.**

"Ah, my assistants for this afternoon, I hadn't expected to see you this early... did you sleep well?" the short professor inquired with a warm smile.

"Er... yes Professor, though we hadn't expected to nap in the chairs..." Harry answered with a slight indication of what looked like a study area being slowly tidied by the two girls and George. Fred had stayed near Harry, by silent agreement.

The headmaster had said he was not to be alone outside of the dorms and classes, but the Rebels all felt that Harry needed more than just that, and so they took it upon themselves to ensure that he always had a friend at hand to talk to, to support him, or to talk him into pulling a subtle little prank on someone. So far, he was still their angelic face to the school, but who knows how long that could last at the rate they were going?

The tiny professor let out a soft chuckle before patting the boys warmly on the arms. "If you were the first Ravenclaws to do that, why I believe my beard would be half as white as it is. There is a reason we have the best chairs in the castle, and it's for that very reason. Don't worry about it my dears; be sure to eat a good breakfast. If you want to take a nap before lunch, I'm sure your homework can wait..."

The knowing twinkle in his eyes alerted Harry and Fred to just how much of their study habits he knew about. After all, it wasn't like they were the only ones that got the homework done as fast as possible, so they could get to the fun work sooner.

Okay, so maybe they were the only ones with fun work to get to after the homework, but others surely did their homework as soon as possible, right?

"Yes Professor," the two agreed with nervous smiles as the each took a chance to silently debate whether or not they needed to make their cipher for their plans harder to work out.

"Oh, while you're in my office later, I must remember to bring you the items you asked for when you helped me clean out my closet," Flitwick stated while tapping his chin in thought. "You mentioned sending some to relatives... I'll help you do that... and Harry, if you wouldn't mind coming after breakfast we can cover the lesson on Goblin etiquette and the writing of your letter to them... oh and your friends are more than welcome to join you."

"Thank you Professor, I appreciate you taking the time for this..." Harry answered honestly with a warm smile on his face. "We are hoping to learn some of the Goblin language Gobbledygook, do you know somewhere we could look to learn it?"

Flitwick's eyes widened in surprise as he studied his young charges carefully. "You want to know Gobbledygook? That's rare... but I believe that you are the first to make such a request... why do you wish to know?"

"Oh... well we thought knowing some polite greetings, formal farewells, and pleasantries would be a good thing if we'll be dealing with Goblins for the rest of our lives... especially when they control something as important as the banking system of the Wizarding World..." Fred explained honestly, leaving off the part of using what they could learn from the languages to form a code language to keep their plans secret. After all, what the Professor didn't know wouldn't come back and bite them in the butts if he overheard them… right?

Oh it was probably going to bite them somewhere anyway, but they were at least delaying the inevitable for a short while...

"I believe that there is a book in the library on it... however I feel a proper tutor would help you more... I am conversational in Gobbledygook, and would be more than happy to teach you what I know," Flitwick answered with a happy squeak to his voice. "Oh it's so wonderful to see wizards and witches taking such a proactive course in dealing with the world that they are going to be living in for the rest of their lives!"

"Yes... well we should clean up our study area from last night..." Harry cut in, changing the subject purposefully.

The part goblin nodded and waved them off. "Quite right Mr. Potter, quite right. I will see you sometime after breakfast, just knock on my door and I'll be our as fast as possible."

"Thanks again Professor," Harry said quietly as Fred led the way back to the others. Joining them, they informed them of the lessons they could take today, and stashed their notes away into their bags as quietly as possible. Taking up their bags, and the first years picked up their telescopes, the group made their ways up or down to their rooms, agreeing to meet up in the common room before heading out to breakfast.

After all, they had to get the day started off right with a proper meal, and a prank on a target of opportunity.


	16. Potions and Other OffCurriculum Lessons

"Mr. Potter..." a stern, nearly irate voice spoke from behind the Rebels, causing the five students to suddenly stop in mid-stride and look back in a sheepish unison that seemed almost unnatural. The frowning face of Poppy Pomfrey, resident nurse of Hogwarts glared daggers straight through the boy in question, seeming to grow in statue to the small boy. "You missed a potion last night..."

It took all of half-a-second for Harry to realize what she meant and the boy sighed heavily. "Yes ma'am... I... I'm sorry... It won't happen again..."

"I should hope not, but we still have to do a check-up... before breakfast _if_ you please..." The matron stated with no room for refusal in her voice. "Don't dawdle, come along now."

Harry smiled nervously before stepping away from the others a little. Waving to them he offered, "I'll see you guys later… I guess..." before heading over to join the nurse, wondering if he would survive the next half an hour.

"Hold up Harry, I got you into this trouble, least I could do is make sure it doesn't happen again..." Fred offered while signaling George to stick with the girls. And with that the two groups of three separated, one set heading down to catch the early line-up for breakfast, the other to the medical ward for Harry's check-up. "Sorry about this mate, if I had been thinking..."

"N... no Fred, it's fine... I was the one who forgot, so don't worry about it..." Harry offered with a nervous smile as they made it to the infirmary and he saw more potions sitting out on a tray near one of the beds.

Madam Pomfrey fortunately led him past that collection of potions of various colors, to an empty bed near the windows. "Sorry about the mess, I'm having to do the weekly inventory today. Now Mister Potter, please sit on the bed, and we'll get the check-up taken care of. Mister Weasley, if you wouldn't mind standing behind the curtain..."

At Harry's nod, Fred ducked behind a curtain and began looking over some of the items that all the beds had tucked neatly underneath them. The first item was a bed pan, which if he remembered right would make a useful weapon of opportunity. Next came the spare blankets and linens. After that was the bandages, creams and if he had to guess some sort of oil. Finally there was a pile of extra pillows.

All in all, not a bad set-up and if Harry ever needed to defend himself while in the infirmary again he had a selection of tools to aide him in that aspect. Now if only there was someone to teach him how to use them. There might even be a book on the subject in either the Ravenclaw shelves or the school's library itself. It might be a good idea for all the Rebels to look into self-defense courses, he couldn't say why but it was just something he felt would be a good idea.

A deep frown creased Fred's lips as he realized that Harry still hadn't talked to the other Rebels about the first attack, and they wouldn't know if it hadn't been for Dumbledore talking to Professor Flitwick while they were in earshot.

For some strange reason, he felt that Harry was trying to take on all his problems alone, and he shouldn't feel the need to.

"You may return Mr. Weasley... I've finished with Mr. Potter," the aged nurse stated, snapping Fred out of his thoughts. Stepping around the curtain again, he caught sight of Harry's torso before the shirt hid it again. The first thought he had was that they needed to get Harry some clothes that fit him better the first chance they got, too bad Hogsmede didn't have a clothing store, or he and George could just nip off to get some one night. The next is that while his ribs were still far too visible for his liking, despite the fact that Harry was definitely gaining weight. Which was good, now he wouldn't go flying away in a stiff breeze.

"I have good news and bad news Mister Potter, which would you prefer first?" Pomfrey asked curiously while writing something down on a clipboard.

"Um... bad please..." Harry selected with uncertainty in his voice. After all, it would be best to get the bad out of the way, so the good could seem that much better.

Fred couldn't really fault that logic, but he really hoped the bad wasn't that terrible, after all, some things good just cannot overcome. "Your potion intake will have to increase to once before every meal..." certainly fell into that category, especially upon knowing what Harry had once described the nutrient potion tasting like.

"But... if I do that, I'll never make it to any of my classes..." Harry protested, remembering that the nutrient potion had the habit of knocking him out shortly after drinking it. He really didn't want to even think of how hard it's going to be to try and stomach the increase potion intake.

"The good news is you no longer have to take the nutrient supplement, and instead are going to be getting an appetite increaser, since you're still eating far too little. However, what you are eating is being processed properly..." the matron of healing arts commented casually while putting down the clipboard. "I believe that your magic is helping you recover, and instead of instantly digesting itself, triggered your body into getting the most of what it could get first."

"That makes sense..." Harry offered quietly while rubbing his arm nervously. "So, I can go right?"

"First you will drink the potion, and for the next three weeks, I will have a house-elf deliver it when you sit down. Drink it first, and then wait five minutes before ordering a meal. I suggest getting used to eating more than usual," Pomfrey instructed casually while sifting through a pouch she pulled from under the bed. Holding up a neon pink potion, she looked at the label carefully before holding it out for Harry. "Here you go, drink it all up... and Mr. Weasley, make sure he eats at least double what he has for the past week... or I will find you."

The gleam in the nurse's eyes reminded him too much of the last time he'd been in a doctor's office and immediately he snapped a very rigid salute. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

Hey, he wasn't in Ravenclaw because he was an idiot, alright? A mad healer is a scary thing.

"Good," Pomfrey stated before waving the boys out. "Now unless you have any further questions..."

"Have you checked out Ron yet ma'am?" Fred asked curiously while Harry got off the bed, looking like he had just tried to swallow his own tongue. It was a fair sight better than the look from the last one, though, which made him look like he had tried to swallow dragon dung.

"Ronald? I assume that is your younger brother, correct? What seems to be the problem with him?" Pomfrey asked with a frown on her face, she honestly hadn't noticed anything wrong with him before today. And that indicated a failing on her part of monitoring her student's health. Perhaps she should institute a mandatory physical upon enrollment like they used to do during the war, and before that when Hogwarts first started.

"It's like this... he's been eating far too much for someone his size, and my twin and I have been worried about him..."

"Yeah... the rest of us noticed as well... but we thought it was a really high metabolism or something..." Harry commented as he moved to stand next to Fred. This talk of food was making him hungrier; maybe the cheery shoe-polish flavored potion was doing its job.

Madam Pomfrey tilted her head in thought as she covered a mental list of the various maladies that could cause such actions in a person, and adding in what little she had observed about the lad since his arrival, she could only reach the conclusion that a more thorough examination was necessary. "Thank you Mister Weasley, Mister Potter... I shall certainly look into this matter. Now be off with you youngsters, before Mister Potter here tries to eat his own robes."

Harry blushed and looked down at his robes quietly, they didn't look too appealing, but he supposed with a little bit of mustard... and a lot of ketchup, it might be edible. "Err... I don't think I'm that hungry yet ma'am..."

"Nonetheless, be on your way, the both of you... and Mister Potter? I will be watching..." Pomfrey assured him, taking her notes into her office and shutting the door. The pair escaped the infirmary without all due haste, not daring to talk until three connecting halls away from the nurse.

"How bad is it mate?" Fred asked curiously, trying to compare the last potion to the current one.

Harry paused, fighting to keep the potion down as he remembered the slimy feel and taste of the potion as it went down. After a minute, he resumed his stride next to the older boy and answered, "Ever have cherry syrup mixed into shoe-polish? A bit like that..."

"I haven't..." Fred stated quietly, as he wondered how Harry knew what shoe-polish and cherry syrup would taste like. Two steps later, he decided that he really would rather not know. Especially since he had an instinctive feeling that Harry's relatives were the answer to the question.

Briefly he wondered what happened to them anyhow.

***LINE BREAK***

In the deepest depths of the Ministry of Magic there was a dungeon, currently housing a woman and her son. The woman knew for a certainty that she deserved this punishment, and that her little Dudders was currently in a juvenile detention facility. The only thing she didn't know was what had happened to her husband Vernon after he'd been taken aside by that strange little goblin fellow.

She knew that he would be offensive to the 'freaky' goblin creature, even after she'd warned him about what her sister Lily had mentioned about them. Her only hope was that he hadn't done something so stupid that they did something he'd regret for the rest of his life. She'd heard that they could even extend his life beyond even what a wizard usually lived to, for the worst offenders to suffer even longer.

She'd known that her treatment of Harry would come back to haunt her, but it had been so easy to just take her anger out on him for the loss of her sister. Him and all those like him. Even if she'd been jealous of Lily's powers, she still loved her and eventually would have liked to try and connect with her... but now it was impossible.

The worst part is that she'd known all along that hating magic wasn't the thing to do, but Vernon had caught her at her weakest possible moment. He'd come in while she was drinking to try and forget about her sister marrying that... wizard. And she could only see him in young Harry, save the gleaming green eyes of her sister. It just made it all the easier to deny him the food and love that he reached out to her for, to just ignore the beatings her husband and son gave to the young boy.

She wanted to hate Harry in James' place, since he had taken her sister from him... and now it was time to reap what she had sowed.

"Mrs. Dursley?" a rough voice asked as her cell door opened slowly, allowing a little more light to slip into the darkened cell. Shielding her eyes from the light she tried to see the being that had just entered into the room she'd come to consider home.

"Y...yes? W...who are you?" she asked shakily, realizing that she shouldn't antagonize anyone that entered the cell.

The creature stepped aside, revealing it to be one of those goblin creatures that had taken her husband away. "My name is Slipkirk, and I'm your defense lawyer..."

"Oh..." Petunia answered quietly, looking at the goblin before her. "Please... just call me Petunia, or if you have to, Mrs. Evans..."

***LINE BREAK***

After a filling breakfast, the Rebels found themselves standing around Flitwick's office door waiting for him to answer after knocking. Before long, the door opened and the tiny professor waved them in. "Come in! Come in! Let's start your lessons."

The five students sat at the desks provided, with Hermione making certain that they each had quills and parchment ready for notes. Once they were situated, Flitwick strode to the front of the semi-circle and sat on a stool. "Today's lesson on Goblins Manners is just simply two essential rules."

"First, always be polite and formal. Goblin society is a very formal one," Flitwick stated calmly while the quills scratched away on the papers. "Now, this is not to say that you cannot address a goblin by name, but let them address you by your given name first, otherwise their job title and human name would be best."

***LINE BREAK***

In a room upstairs from where she'd been held, Petunia watched the goblin in front of her curiously, her hands wringing themselves slowly. "L... Lawyer Slipkirk... thank you for taking my case... I wish I could help you more... but I knew what I was doing at the time. I'm just as guilty, even if only as an accessory to the crimes."

"Miss Evans, by your own story, and the memory evidence provided by Mister Dursley, we have noticed that while you were complacent during most of the transgression, you have been the one saving grace to prevent Mister Potter's outright demise," the lawyer goblin stated while flipping to a page in his notes. "In fact, on more than one time you have taken injury for your actions. Though minor, we find these actions speak to your rehabilitation potential."

Even as she sifted through the words that her lawyer was saying, she couldn't help but wonder why he was smiling the entire time.

***LINE BREAK***

"Rule two: Always be honest with a goblin, they know more than you possibly think," Flitwick continued, watching his wonderful students digesting this information. "Seldom do Goblins enter any type of dealings with others, without detailed information prepared beforehand."

***LINE BREAK***

"Lawyer Slipkirk... I... I just want to know one thing before the trial...Is Harry safe from Vernon?" Petunia asked nervously, while studying her hands quietly. This was just something she had to know, if she was ever going to be able to move on.

"Miss Evans, I will not lie to you... Mister Dursley is currently suffering a fate that few others have incurred with the Goblins before, as he insulted our king directly..." Slipkirk answered calmly while putting away the files he'd had out for the past hour. "The chances of Mister Dursley so much as being in the same dimension as Mister Potter is exceedingly rare currently."

"Thank you Lawyer Slipkirk..." Petunia spoke with gratitude making her voice humble and quiet as a warm smile spread across her face. For the first time in years, the smile in regards to her nephew was an honest one. "I suppose I am going back to my cell now?"

"Actually... you will have a new cell until after your trial... which should be November 1st, unless new evidence is revealed before then," Slipkirk answered before summoning a guard to take Petunia to her new quarters.

***LINE BREAK***

"Now, as to Mister Potter's request to sending them a letter... I would advise against using an owl, as they take offense to the use of wizards doing so," Flitwick continued as he turned to pour out some tea for himself and his students. "If one volunteers that is different, but generally it is better to have a House Elf deliver it, or pass it on to a goblin nearby. Gringotts has its own mail system that is several times faster than wizards could hope for with owls."

With a flicker of a smile at the familiarity of being in class, he nodded to Hermione as her hand rose with a question. "Why do wizards use owls then professor?" Hermione asked with honest curiosity, getting nods from the two other muggle raised students, while the twins seemed to question it for the first time in their life. "They probably hate traveling by day as nocturnal creatures, and, as said, they're not exactly fast..."

"An excellent question Miss Granger," Flitwick stated with a clap of his hands. "The short answer is that they've been doing so for so long that it was far faster than the muggle alternative. However, from what I have learned of the muggle postal system these past couple years, there is a certain narrowing of the gap. But there is also the fact that the owls will most times find a person for their letter without fail. That is no matter where on the planet they may be."

"Excuse me Professor Flitwick," Harry cut in curiously after being selected with his hand raised. "But you said 'most times'... so a person may intercept the post meant for another?"

Nodding his head, Flitwick summoned a blackboard from against the wall and began drawing on it with a piece of chalk. "Yes Mister Potter, in fact there are a few ways in order to perform this... The first is to intercept the owl itself, which is only a crime if it is on official Ministry business," at the mention of this, the three younger students frown deeply, looking decisively uncomfortable. "Another is to use a Fidelius Charm to cause the owl to lose track of you. And finally, the use of certain spells and potions can cause you to mimic another enough that the owl will deliver to you, instead of the original person."

"And this is all legal when not from the Ministry itself?" Su asked, still looking like it was rather distasteful.

"Correct Miss Li," Flitwick answered, getting another soured expression from the younger students, while the elder two seemed to catch on. "I take it that in the Muggle world, this is different?"

Hermione was the one to answer, standing up slightly in her seat so the others could see her properly. "Let me pose an example for you... say Harry is at home, awaiting a response from me via his owl Hedwig. What would happen if someone intercepted her, and prevented the letter from arriving?"

"They'd likely read your letter, and use that material to tease you," Fred answered, getting a nod from the Wizarding World born and raised.

"If they did it through the muggle postal system, they would arrested, on the federal level in most cases," Hermione stated while looking squarely at the picture of a caged owl that Flitwick had drawn on the board. "What you've just told me is that there is a legal way to ensure that Harry would be utterly isolated from getting any mail..."

"I see your point Miss Granger," Flitwick conceded as he wondered if someone hadn't done that to his own post in the past. It was a rather troubling thought indeed. "I believe you are correct in worrying about this, but that is a matter for another time..."

Even as he started to try and change the subject, he couldn't help but notice that the wheels were cycling in young Mister Potter's head. "Mister Potter?"

The young man blinked his eyes and shook his head as though to clear it. "Sorry Professor... I was thinking about something that just occurred to me... The only letter I received was from Hogwarts, and it was accurate down to the cu... room I stayed in..."

A quick glance over the rest of the classroom, showed that he wasn't the only one there to notice the slip Harry had started saying, and he worried once again just how horrid the young life had been. "But I'm told that in the Wizarding World I am something of a celebrity..."

"Too right mate," George cut in, "Why Ginny herself must have sent you... dozens... of... let... ters..."

Something seemed to click inside the minds of his students, as they all looked at one another, before scribbling something on their parchment that he just couldn't see due to his height. All he could tell was that one word was 'letters', and another was 'investigate'.

"Perhaps we should get back to our original subject?" Flitwick offered after their quills slowed and a couple of them were laid to rest on the desks. "Does anyone other than Mister Potter wish to send a letter to Gringotts?"

"I think..." Fred started, letting his eyes shift to his twin.

"We might as well sir," George continued, before both of them joined finished together.

"But we don't know a goblin at the bank."

"Surely you would know your family's account manager," the diminutive professor offered, before getting a slow shake of their heads in unison. He would have to look up how they could be so in synch. It was unheard of even in magical twins for two people to act in such unison. "Then perhaps you could ask the goblin Harry is writing to if he would mind passing on the message for you. You can trust goblins to protect your secrets to the grave and beyond."

Getting a nod from the other students, they all turned to look at Harry expectantly. Before the he could prompt, the young lad offered up the name. "His name is Griphook... I... I think he's a teller there..."

"If you are uncertain, you may use Goblin Griphook," Flitwick offered with a warm smile. "He will supply his title in his reply and you may use that for future contact. Now go ahead and write up a first draft, and I shall correct it for you if necessary."

"Yes Professor, thank you," came the response from the group, making him just how much the twin's unique ability was spreading to the others, and if it was contagious outside of the group. For the next few minutes, the only thing heard in the room was the scratching of quills on paper. It was little surprise when Hermione was the first one with her letter, but instead of bringing it up to him like he expected, she paused and reread it while nibbling her lower lip nervously.

In fact, it was Su who came up with her letter first, a simple and formal request into setting up an account accessible in both England and Hong Kong. A few flicks of his pen and he had her wording corrected, but overall he was very proud at the progress she'd made with her English. He would have to add a few points to Ravenclaw for that. A warm smile and she was back to work on her letter, copying it over with the corrections made he hoped.

Next came Miss Granger, who was wondering about investment opportunities within the bank, and a bit about the currency exchange rate. All-in-all a very complete and proper letter, with a nod of his head, he accepted her letter and allowed her to seal it in an envelope. While she was doing that, the twins came up with their letters.

The first one he read was George's who was surprisingly enough about loan rates for start-up companies, and if it was possible for a family member of an established family like the Weasley's themselves to set up an independent account, rather than a joint account with the family head.

A few quick corrections, and a suggestion in word usage in the third paragraph and George was sent back to his desk to work out his letter again. If George's had been a surprise, Fred's was doubly so.

First he wanted to know about the types of security that the goblins employed, while stating that he wasn't looking for specifics, he wanted to know if they only used physical magical beings as protection, or if they included special goblin wards and rituals as well. After that he asked if it was possible to add such protection, and how much it would cost. Then there was a part inquiring about their myriad of other services available, and what seemed to hint at being employed there in the future. And in closing he asked about setting up an isolated account, in much the same manner as his twin had.

All this curiosity into the security of the bank made Flitwick wonder what exactly Fred was asking about, until he got to the inquiry about the various other aspects, and he realized that if the prankster had caused so much havoc in Hogwarts with his limited resources, he could excel in the security and protection field with the expanded resources available at Gringotts. Perhaps he should nudge the lad into ancient runes next year.

And oh how he wished that the boy's essays were this neatly done for his homework, why he almost wanted to frame this and hang it in the staff room as proof that Fred Weasley could write properly. Instead he marked a couple grammatical and word choice errors, before sliding it back to the red-headed twin with a knowing smile. "I dare say I might just be expecting more out of your essays in the future Mister Weasley..."

Oh that blush was the stuff that a teacher could spend their entire career longing to see, and never receive.

While he was savoring that delightful response, Harry had managed to come up and was fidgeting slightly as he held out his letter. Taking it from the lad, he began reading it over, taking the time to ensure that all the topics Mister Potter had wanted to check into were taken care of.

It seemed that he was rather concerned about his fiscal responsibilities, as well as ways to improve the Wizarding world. The concerns over his mail, things from his parents, and the other matters spoke much to his state of mind. However, it was the request for Flitwick to be used as the contact point that really touched him deeply. "I think it's ready to be sent as soon as you make it ready to be mailed..."

"Thank you professor," Harry answered with a small smile on his face. The silence in the room was a pleasant one that he'd learned to enjoy in the decades since he'd become the head of Ravenclaw. There was just something soothing about the scratching of quill on pen that one could grow to love given time.

After the letters had all been piled in his hands, he ensured they were all properly addressed, before calling out, "Jobby? Could you come here please?"

A house elf wearing a faded pink dishrag as a toga appeared with a wide grin on his face. "What can Jobby do for Professors Flitwick?"

Holding out the stack of letters, he smiled warmly at the creature that was probably just as tall as he was. "Would you be a dear and take these to Griphook at Gringotts?"

"Yes sirs, professors sirs," the elf answered before collecting the letters and disappearing from sight. This seemed to catch Hermione's attention as she muttered, "I thought one couldn't apparate from here..."

"That is an excellent point Miss Granger," Flitwick stated with a clap of his hands. "Since we have a while before lunch, how about a lesson in non-human magical creatures that we deal with everyday?"

To his surprise, none of the students seemed to protest this idea; instead they simply pulled out another scroll of parchment and prepped to take notes.

'_Aaah, true Ravenclaws…" _He thought happily.

"Very well... let's begin with House Elves and Goblins... and go from there."

* * *

Harry's letter will be found on the forum linked in my profile. http : / magi-tower . forum-free . net / - sorry but right now it's only accessible if you're registered and logged in... but I'll approve of people signing up... and there's lot of room for people!


	17. Of Bullies and Consquences

Sorry about the delay, the Beta took some time due to real life stuff, send her your support. Also, the forum is still available for people to talk... really, I'm lonely. More butchered Chinese in this one. Enjoy!

* * *

If Saturday had been informative, peaceful, and relaxing, then Harry assumed Sunday was to be the penance for it. Once again he'd woken long before the Sun had crested the Eastern horizon, and found himself reviewing yesterdays' lessons while watching the sky slowly lighten as dawn approached. Just as the day-star crested over the hills, he heard the footsteps of someone approaching from the dorms.

Turning around, he fully expecting Fred, a fellow early riser to be there, and so when he found Su coming into the common room from the giirl's dorm's he was surprised.

"Hello Harry..." She greeted.

"Nǐ hǎo Su, sleep well?" Harry asked with a warm smile as he waved her over to his side. "Come join me, it looks like it'll be a nice morning again... I was thinking of going for a walk before breakfast."

The foreign student walked up next to Harry, keeping a respectful distance from him as she watched the morning break over the surrounding landscape. Letting the silence embrace them, Harry watched Su's reflection in the window's panes silently, knowing something she'd been keeping from the others.

"Su, would you like to go for a walk? We can enjoy ourselves... talk... just the two of us..." Harry offered, pointing towards the exit. It was a still a long time before breakfast, and he should really leave the others a note, but he had a comm-wand and they had the map to look in on him and Su. Besides, _sometimes_ it was nice to get away from the crowd.

"Yes..." Su answered, already heading for the doorway. Harry slipped the comm-wand into place over his ear before joining her, keeping it switched off for now. After all, they had a signal for when the devices should be activated, and Su didn't need the others listening in.

A few halls and a set of stairs away from the common room, Su finally broke the silence. "I... I know we Rebels have rules against pranking Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs... b...but w...what if we knew they were doing something that the other houses would be targeted for?"

"I suppose we could ask the Rebel's founder for a special lifting of the rule..." Harry explained as they rounded a corner, catching sight of a few professors out on patrol. "If you play your cards properly, the traps are most effective, and sometimes the rules have to be bent to make sense, right?"

Su blinked at Harry, before following the flick of his head with her eyes to see the teachers watching them carefully. "But I... I don't want to win by cheating the system Harry... and the points I would lose would be _huge_, would they not?"

"I don't think so Su, since they're cheating by breaking their house's charters, they're probably free targets. You'd just have to ask..." Harry countered, taking Su down the first hall they came to, and leaving the two professors behind them. He didn't know where the card game idea had come from, but it was certainly something worth using for a cover story for all their little meetings, group huddles, and such.

He made a mental note to talk to the others about continuing and expanding the little lie to the others, maybe they could even work in a code system to make it all work, the teacher's never being able to break their codes to discover the crimes…

But he had more pressing matters at hand; Su was nervously worrying her lower lip with a pensive frown on her face. Harry knew that look all too well - he'd worn it plenty of times when Dudley had been bullying him. "Have they really been that bad Su?"

"N...no... I..." Su started, only to be cut off by the arrival of a few Ravenclaw girls of various years, including one Cho Chang. Harry couldn't see them due to a pillar in his way, but he could certainly hear them. And what he heard made his green eyes harden until they were specks of emeralds, hard – and sharp.

"You know that first year Su and how she's been hanging out with Harry and his friends?" one of the girls spoke up, eliciting giggles from the others. "I hear she _begged_ them to let her join them, and that they're only doing it out of pity."

The pained look on Su's face told Harry enough to know that more than one of the girls were looking straight at Su as the speaker said it. When Cho's whiny voice rang in, Harry so badly wanted to step out and punch her in the face. But the tiny hand on his chest, pushing him back denied him that chance. "That little baby probably doesn't even understand that they pity her, she probably thinks she's really their friend."

Now Harry was a reasonably sane, friendly, intelligent fellow, and as such he knew exactly what to do. Reaching up he carefully slide the transmitter into activation, and smiled as he heard Fred's greeting, just before the girls continued to tear into Su.

"What's that widdle Su? Don't like being called a baby? Maybe you should read a book on how to grow up..." another girl stated, getting a round of laughter from the others again. Harry knew Fred had heard, as he could hear the grumbling on the other end of the line.

Harry could feel Su's hand stiffening with contained rage as she continued being insulted by the other girls. Fred had apparently pulled George into a discussion about breaking the rule regarding pulling pranks on fellow members of Ravenclaw. Personally he was half ready to step out in front of the girls and cause them to be unable to stand with the floor suddenly completely slick. Points be damned, he refused to let someone be abused if he could help it.

Su was a sweet girl that was trying her best to adapt to a new culture, a written language that had a completely different alphabet and grammatical rules, and being so far from her home and family. What's wrong with that?

Hearing Fred address him, he blinked as the twin laid out what they'd been talking about as a lesson to why one shouldn't pick on those different. He had to say that the potion was an interesting one, but the fact that they would need to know the other language severely limited it.

Unless...

Unless he used Parseltongue as the base language for the girls to read and hear the entire time they were under the influence - which if what he heard of Hermione piping in with was correct would be about a full week.

A week of seeing only snake-like squiggles and hearing nothing but hissing did sound like a fitting punishment to him. Maybe he should use that on the entire of Slytherin house one day, after a test run on these girls… the possibilities…

Hearing the girls walking off while laughing at Su, he waited a full ten count before pulling her into a hug. It was odd, before coming to Hogwarts he would have shrunk away from any type of physical contact, but now he had just initiated it.

This place was doing magical things for him; maybe it really was all that Hermione kept telling him about from Hogwarts: A History.

Loosening the hug, he found Su's tear-filled eyes staring up at him with a silent, unspoken question hiding deep in their depths. With a small nod, Harry began leading her back to the common room, via the scenic route, avoiding all other early-risers.

"Su... you shouldn't have to put up with that," Harry stated once they came to the open courtyard, letting the sunshine dry away the smaller girl's tears.

Su waited until they walked under the branches of one of the larger trees to pause and acknowledge that she'd heard him. But she didn't answer immediately.

Taking the time to actually look at the area, Harry thought would be nice to relax under the tree; to waste away the afternoon before dinner. He could almost see the Rebels sitting there plotting, doing homework, or napping. It was a nice scene, but for some reason he didn't think that it would simply remain the five of them for long.

Su broke through his thoughts as she answered with, "You should not either."

Hary froze as he watched her, only faintly hearing Fred's agreement with her as she turned to look at him with a sad little smile on her face. "Harry, we're your friends, and we're here to support you just as you support us... please..."

Swallowing the lump that had suddenly lodged itself firmly in his throat, he turned away from the oriental girl that had set off an avalanche of thoughts, memories, and emotions loose in his mind. Every last thing the Dursley's had ever done to him; the beatings, the names, the starvation, everything was washing over him like a tidal wave of earth, threatening to pull him under.

It was when a pair of small hands captured his that he felt himself being pulled free of the nightmarish deluge of his past. Looking down at where their hands were connected, he smiled nervously before sighing heavily. "I... I have been keeping a secret from all of you... and I think it might be past time to give you the warning I should have provided."

"It'll wait until we can meet up in the common room, but I just want to say I'm sorry..." Harry continued, his eyes never leaving the ground as he wondered what had stopped him from telling them earlier. "Sorry for not trusting my friends sooner."

Up in a cloistered office, a wizened old figure watched the two down in the courtyard silently while stroking his long, flowing white beard. "Hmm... it would seem that Mister Potter is developing true friendships..."

Turning away from the window, he strode over to his desk and settled in. Pulling a parchment over, he began to peruse it quietly, while his mind mulled over the information in his head. It was true that Harry would require friends, especially with that prophecy looming over his head like that.

Perhaps he should give them a little warning earlier than Molly had suggested about that, it wouldn't be good for Harry to lose friends should the prophecy come about again.

Sighing heavily, he set down the document from the Wizengamot and rubbed his eyes tiredly, maybe he should take that vacation that Poppy constantly bugged him to take every year. All these inflated titles and meetings were starting to divert him from his true passion in life.

Finding, and/or creating the perfect lemon-drop.

Leaning back in his chair, he mused about how terribly he had misjudged young Harry's situation, much like he'd done with a previous young person. Both of them had lost their parents at a very young age, and both grew up in conditions that could only have worsened any resentment they might have had.

Then why was it that Harry managed to be such a good young lad, when Riddle turned out to be rotten to the core? Was it really something as simple as the love that continued to protect Harry to this day? Maybe it was those friends of his influencing him, but that was only possible if he had met them before coming to Hogwarts. Maybe it was simply the boy himself, being braver, smarter, loyal, and more cunning to not allow his past to deter him from hope.

Smiling to himself, he pondered how much the boy was like Hogwarts herself, the ancient school had stood the test of time. Be it wars, famines, plagues, dark lords, and most recently a group of pranksters that had the school in an uproar, Hogwarts still remained like a gleaming beacon of magical hope against the encroaching darkness.

A few minutes after Harry and Su had regained their respective composure in the peaceful serenity of what limited nature Hogwarts allowed on campus, the pair were back in the Ravenclaw common room. Opposite them, beside the fireplace, sat their friends with severely grim faces, and a devious glint in their eyes.

Even though it was aimed at them, it felt very reassuring to them, as they knew it wasn't truly meant for them, but rather in order to support them. Reaching up, Harry pulled the comm-wand off from his head and tucked it into his pocket. "I suppose we know why we're here..."

"Yes Harry," Lady Rowena answered once he'd gotten into range that the silencing spell wouldn't completely isolate him or Su. He could hear Su's gasp of surprise as she heard the portrait talk for the first time.

"Y...you are R...Ravenclaw Lǎoshī... aren't you?" Su asked nervously, as she stared up at the portrait in shock, slipping into Chinese formalities instinctively.

Lady Rowena smiled sweetly at the young girl, bowing her head slightly watching the girl with a warm look on her face. "You may call me Lady Rowena dear... And I have been meaning to welcome you to the Rebels..."

"The Reb... you know about... our activities?" Su asked in a stunned tone as she fidgeted and looked at the others nervously. To her utter surprise, they were all hunched over a scroll, utterly ignoring the fact that one of the founders was talking to her via a portrait that conveyed her essence to the current generation.

If the venerated and highly praised founder of Hogwart's wise and intelligent house felt anything from the surprise, awe, and panic of the little girl before her portrait, she didn't show it... much. A soft giggle and a conspiratorial wink was about it. "No need to worry my dear, I helped to found the Rebels last year. Why those two little darlings with flaming hair were putting some Slytherins in their place after they bullied some of my little chicks."

"B...but we..." Su started, before pausing and realizing that they were working above their grade level on nearly everything. And they were only targeting the jerks and others that would drag the school down. All-in-all, it was an effective way to improve the school and challenge some eager young minds.

Lady Rowena saw the pieces falling into place with the young girl, and smiled warmly. "I can see you're answering your own question right now. Good work."

Indeed she was, all the pieces formed a picture in her mind, a few careful suggestions and placements and you'd have your very own group of students to do your bidding. The only difference with Rowena and most others, was that she admitted it to them directly. For a mastermind to do that, it was a rather refreshing change.

"You want to WHAT?" Hermione screamed at Harry, breaking Su's thought process into millions of pieces. "Harry you can't!"

"You didn't hear them, Hermione," Harry countered sadly while trying to wave her into sitting back down. "I'm just bringing it to the table as a suggestion... If you have a better language in mind, we'll use it."

"We should at least tell them what's going to happen..." Hermione defended quietly, as though somewhat placated. Sitting down on the chair she had leaped out of, she sighed heavily. "Su had a warning about English before coming here..."

"Yes, but I don't think that they deserve it," Fred growled with a deep frown, mirrored on his twin's face, "Do the Death Eaters warn muggles when they're about to kill them?"

"Well they do mate, they tend to like gloating, but that's besides the point..." George answered as an aside. "We have never told people that a prank was coming, and I don't see why to start now."

Harry sighed slowly as he shook his head. "Hermione's right guys, Parseltongue is nothing but hissing and squiggles on pages. But you both have a point too. If we give them too much warning, they'll be able to avoid our delivery."

"So what? You want us to give them a big box of chocolates and leave a little note at the bottom that says 'By the way, we poisoned the candy so now you'll only hear parseltongue for a week. Enjoy!'?" Fred snapped again, glaring at the younger Rebels sternly.

The others paused for a moment looking at Fred as though he'd grown an extra head. The silence was broken by a simple question, "Why not?" George asked with a devious smirk, "It is a warning."

"And it would make us better than those girls..." Hermione added after a half-moment more of thought. "If we attack them without a warning at all, then they won't learn the lesson we want them to."

"What do you say, Su? Lady Rowena?" Harry asked, while looking over at the pair watching the quad of Rebels doing most of the planning.

Su blinked and looked at the portrait of the Hogwarts founder, as though asking a silent question that no one had voiced yet. Was she really ready to make this decision?

"I believe this is Su's vengeance, so it should be her choice as to how it's done..." the portrait deferred neatly while indicating young Su. "I can see the wisdom of both paths, and I know you Rebels will do me proud with the choice you make today."

And like that, Su was put under the scrutiny of her friends. It hadn't' even been a full week since she'd joined them, and they were trusting her opinion on this matter. Deep inside her mind she felt herself weighing the options and trying to pick the best course of action. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves. Shutting her eyes she focused on the matter on hand, instead of just letting her mind bounce around wildly.

When she opened her eyes again, they were set with a resolve that bore through to her very core of steel "Here is what we will do..."

Pulling himself out of the foul stench of the swamp he'd been dumped into, Vernon cursed under his breath at the little demon that had tormented his existence since he'd been dropped off on his doorstep all those years ago. That boy and his unnatural ways were to blame for him being here, separated from the wife he loved, and his pride and joy Dudley. If he ever found that retched Potter boy again, he was going to tear him apart with his bare hands!

That was just the beginning though, after he was done with that boy, he would move on to those filthy goblins that had dumped him here, and all the other unnatural creatures that were torturing him.

First was that freak they called a king, oh he would show the world exactly what that blond poofter was. Disgusting it was that a creature like that could portray itself as a human so well, that even Vernon had been fooled, and then to take such a young and innocent girl as it's unholy bride. Why he would have to make sure that beast knew just how lowly it really was.

And after a bath, he would settle back into his normal routine life with his wife, proud and secure in the knowledge that he was a hero to the world.

At least that was the plan until a portal opened itself at the crest of the hillock he was climbing free of the swamp on. With it came a blast of wind that sent him tumbling back down into the ghastly stench that he had hoped to be free of. As he fought to free himself he couldn't help but notice a large, official looking envelope settling down on a patch of grass and roots right by his head.

Floundering over, he smiled as he saw it was his family's solicitor. That was a bit of good news, after all he had paid to retain his services he was finally proving his worth by contacting him when he needed him most. Even if it meant dealing with those unnatural creatures that controlled this space. Wiping his hands off on his relatively cleaner undershirt, he tore open the envelope, reading the contents.

What he saw caused his swollen face to grow to the immense and furious shade of puce that Harry would forever see in his nightmares. That traitorous bitch of a slut went and betrayed him!

Not only did she abandon him, but she was refusing to spend another shilling on the lawyer due to Vernon's use of the money that he had gained through illicit means. The papers that were sitting in his hands awaiting his signature, complete with a pen in the envelope, were his last action as his solicitor. LIKE HELL HE WOULD SIGN THEM!

Tearing the papers into as many pieces as he could, Vernon scattered them to the non-existent wind, littering over the god-forsaken swamp of stench. Once again he began his climb to the top of the hillock to look for a way out of the swamp, or at least the nearest area he could rest in.

Just before he got to the top of the mound of earth and vegetation, another of those blasted portals opened, sending him back into the exact pit he had created with his last tumble. The splash of water was a bit larger this time, as it had began to pool in the bottom of the crevice.

Floundering around again, he found another envelope waiting for him. This one had a piece of paper sitting primly on top. Pulling the paper off the envelope, he read it over and let out a bark of a laugh at the message, '_Please do not litter, it will only make it worse. - Warden Slipnoose_'

Like those vile goblins could make it any worse here. To prove his defiance of their supposed order, he picked up the envelope and began shredding it and the papers inside once more scattering them in a flurry of white that ended more often than not on himself. He also tossed the location of the portal a two-finger salute for good measure.

Now Vernon was a man of many qualities and traits... intelligence was not one of them. For no sooner had he finished doing that than another piece of paper landed on his face which read. '_I did warn you. - Warden Slipnoose_'

Lowering the paper, he wondered what the stupid goblin creature could do to him, when he refused to appear in person. Looking up he smiled as he saw rainclouds rolling in, at least he could get cleaned somewhat while he worked to get himself free.

The rain he hoped for broke, only instead of being fresh water he'd been expecting, it was more the sludge that one might find at the bottom of a chest freezer in a butcher shop which had been closed down for ten years, and not cleaned properly beforehand. The only way to describe it was to mix rancid pork, three flats of rotten eggs, beef that had gone bad years ago, and spoiled milk just after it started turning chunky. Liquefy it with an entire jar of mayonnaise that had a few decades out of date. Scrub it against the armpits of a massive blighter whose last bath was sometime around Queen Elizabeth's fifth birthday. Finally strain the resulting mixture through a pair of socks for each member of a rugby team that weren't washed in four seasons, into a cup formed directly out of cow dung before being left to sit out in the elements of three years.

And yet he couldn't even use that to do this stench justice.

If he ever got his hands on that unnatural boy, he would make sure he suffered for this. He would stick him into this swamp for a few years, so he could experience it.

Seeing no other way about it, he climbed to the top of the hillock again, it was his goal, and he would continue working towards it. Portals and unnatural creatures be damned!

Once again that blasted portal opened up and sent him back down the hill into the deepening crevice that he expanded every time he fell. This time the envelope that settled onto the patch of Earth were a good deal thicker and the note on top was another warning.

'_This is your third and final warning. Stop littering on my swamp, sign the papers, or I will continue to make your life worse. Your family at least learned after the first attempt, if not before hand, save one. - Warden Slipnoose_'

Opening the envelope, he fumed darkly, seeing the same papers that he still refused to sign, but underneath there were also notices of asset seizures. Everything he owned outright was being taken to repay the money he took to raise the boy. Petunia and Dudley were also being reviewed for criminal punishment. And to make it worse, he had been removed from his position at Grunnings.

Letting out a shout of rage, he tore the papers apart and flung them away before assaulting the hill with anger fueled vigor. He would get out of this place, and then he would turn those unnatural beasts into throw rugs before his fireplace!

He hadn't even made it up half the hill when the portal opened, though it lacked the force of the others, it was by far larger than them. What came out, instead of the usual paperwork he'd been expecting, was a large woman.

A large woman that hit him square in the face, sending the both of them down into the muck. As he floundered in the mire, getting a few hits to his already battered body from the woman, until he finally recognized the screeching and complaining voice. "Marge? What on Earth are you doing here?"

The woman stopped struggling against the sludge and took notice of her brother. Getting a hand from him, she finally managed to get her feet underneath her and stand up. "Vernon? What have those vile relatives of Petunia's caused now? Where is my little darling?"

Pausing for a moment Marge finally took a look around and began choking at the smell. "And where the hell are we? Oh god, the smell! It smells worse than that BOY'S bedroom!"

Vernon smiled viciously at where the portal had always appeared, it had given him something he could appreciate, something he could use, that idiot Slipnoose had just given him the last thing it had wanted.

A beneficial person to aid him in getting free.


	18. Trapping the Light Fantastic

Many thanks to the new beta-reader for being so wonderful and having such an amazing turn around time. Let's all give alix33 a big round of applause!

* * *

The plan that Su presented to the others was many things, it was simple, vicious, and left no doubt that the girls would know exactly what they had done to deserve it. A couple of spell suggestions from Lady Rowena and they had a very solid delivery method.

Most of the group expected to leave after that, however Harry asked them to stay behind for a moment. And this was how the meeting had turned from a casual plot to humiliate and punish a group of students that needed to be taught a lesson to a rather uncomfortable atmosphere in the mere matter of seconds.

"Most of you know that something happened recently," Harry started as he looked down at his hands, trying to search for the courage that the sorting hat had assured him that he had. "Su, about a week ago I was in the infirmary after getting sick because of what my relatives did to me, but what I'm going to say is unrelated."

"Harry?" Hermione asked quietly as she put a supportive hand on his shoulder, her eyes searching for his.

Harry took a deep breath, letting his eyes close as he pressed on. "That night, there was someone in the infirmary with me. No, there were two voices that I heard," Harry corrected as he fought against his nerves. "They wanted to use a shrinking potion on me until I... well until I was too small to exist."

"But how is that possible?" Hermione asked after the stunned silence had settled in. "I suppose that you wouldn't be able to process food, but after time you would be too small to consume the potion from the bottle. How is it possible that a potion like that could..."

"I think that a potion that is absorbed through the skin could possibly be used in that way... Slip it into water that Harry uses often..." Su offered, for everyone to look at her, "Not all potions need to be drank!"

"But even still, after a point, he'd be too small to absorb it," Hermione pointed out before blinking slowly. "But at that point he could literally pass through the cracks of the floor..."

"He'd be small enough that even if they can't give him another application, he'd be eaten by bugs or similar... He'd be dead within minutes." Su finished, "Too small to 'exist' is a very loose term."

Fred and George put down their quills and papers with a pair of sheepish looks on their faces, and a moment later, the group looked towards the strangely silent Harry. The boy looked between his shoes and the floor underneath them. "So it wasn't just a wild theory? They could have really done it?"

"We'd have to look into the actual application of the potion in question, mate, but we're going to make sure that no one will touch you," Fred told the small boy, rubbing his upper arm gently. "Come on, mate, tell us more about what happened."

"I don't know how else to explain it, so please bear with me," Harry explained as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "I was asleep and woke up hearing this hissing voice, similar to the snake at the zoo. It was talking to a voice that sounded a lot like Professor Quirrell, but..."

As Harry paused to search for a way to describe what he'd heard from the two voices, all four of his friends were already working out ways to keep Harry safe, beyond what they were already doing. One thing was clear, there was something seriously wrong with Hogwarts if there could be an attack on a student in the infirmary. It was Su that pushed through the confusion by asking, "What did you do after that, Harry?"

"Well I don't think I was thinking clearly with my forehead feeling like I was having a shard of glass ground into it, but I remember grabbing the chamber pot and..." Harry blushed slightly and looked down nervously. "I was going to make them work to kill me, but I... what good would a chamber pot have done?"

"Against one of them, possibly knocked them out, against two, given you time for help to arrive. And with them being charmed to vanish any liquids or... other matter... that enters it, if you could have smashed the potion bottle inside..." Lady Rowena began reasoning while fighting tears stinging her eyes at the thought of someone hurting such a sweet young boy. No one needed to ask how he knew what it felt to have a shard of glass ground into something, but it did make them wonder if the pain hadn't been involved. "Harry, could you show me where the pain was?"

Blinking slowly, Harry lifted his fringe to reveal the lightning bolt scar on his forehead before using a finger of his other hand to tap it. The grave nod on Rowena's face alerted him to her knowing something about what happened, but he wasn't ready to push for more information. He'd definitely have to ask sometime when it was just the two of them.

"Harry, if you're ready, let's get the potion finished," Fred offered softly, his voice heavy with concern, but knowing the boy had already gone through hell just telling them what had happened. He needed the diversion, if for no other reason than to prevent him from brooding on it. "George, would you and the girls like to get an appropriate box from our stores? I think you three can make it to the fifth hold if you hurry, otherwise the seventh will be opening in a half-hour."

"Right, I've got the map Fred," George answered before patting Harry on the back lightly. "We'll be back in no time. You two enjoy your little brewing session."

Before Harry or Fred could respond the younger of the two was getting sandwiched between two emotionally distraught girls hugging him. In a surprise to even himself, he didn't feel anything but gratitude for the contact, even if it was entrapping him. One arm eased itself around each of the girls and he returned their hugs gently before letting them go. "You two have fun getting candy with George, alright?"

"We will, Harry," Hermione answered with a smile as she pulled back, "Be careful while doing the potion. Don't get expelled, or worse, hurt..."

The soft chuckle from the guys caused her to blush as she remembered how she had said something almost to the exact opposite of those words not all that long ago. Turning away, she dragged George and Su away. After a moment Fred dispelled the silencing spell and started wandering over towards one of the bookcases, while looking around the practically abandoned common room. "Harry me lad, let me show you a little trick of our success..." Fred explained once the last person was out of the room, leaving the pair alone. It struck Harry as odd how often the common room was practically the last place to ever see anyone from their own house, but he figured that the library being still open and the private studies in their own rooms were far more appealing.

Joining Fred by the shelves he watched as the older boy looked around once again before pressing in a piece of the ornamental carving, a second after a faint click let him know that there was a catch a narrow second layer of wall descended into the flooring to reveal a set of stairs going up. Blinking at this new revelation, he tried to place it against the mental map of Hogwarts he'd been developing and could only line it up with one of the interior walls of the castle's hallways. As Fred pulled him along, Harry opened his mouth to ask, only for the wall behind them to seal up again, leaving them alone in the stairwell, lit by strange glowing stones. "Welcome to the real Raven's loft Harry. From what Lady Rowena told us, we've gathered this is one of the secret passages that she took her students to learn in."

Well that made sense, if the houses originally had apprentices to their heads, then they'd have to have somewhere that they could study privately. But still, the very fact that they were walking inside a wall was a little unnerving, especially as it continued going upward for several meters. Finally, they reached a small room at the top, which steadily grew brighter at a sedated pace, which didn't instantly blind them. After a moment, Harry began looking around.

He could tell there was a small area for practicing spells, another for studying, and a third which seemed to double the space of the other two set aside for potions. It hardly surprised Harry that there were what looked like several potions going at once. One he recognized instantly as the slurry they dipped the comm-wands into, if by nothing else than the stench that rolled off it. A moment later he was standing before a smaller cauldron, with a clear, oily substance inside. "Meet the Potions of Tongues, an early attempt at creating a translation potion by Lady Rowena, she kept track of her failures, just in case they had other uses. Harry... I need you to focus on speaking in Parseltongue while pouring in the last ingredient... can you do that?"

Thinking about the language he swallowed against the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. Could he do it at will? Was it possible. "I... I don't know if I can do it like that..."

"Think about talking to a snake... recite the Hogwarts school anthem to it," Fred offered helpfully with a little shrug of his shoulders. This only brought a smile to the nervous boy's face as he remembered just how horrible the school song was.

Finally he closed his eyes and focused on talking to a snake, it didn't feel any different to him, since he heard it in heavily accented English and could only assume that the same could be said of the snake for him. So instead he focused on the mental image of a snake before him. "_Tesssting._"

"Good work Harry!" Fred exclaimed as he passed over a vial. "Now, I'll stir, while I'm doing that, recite the school song in the same voice."

Harry nodded, figuring that Fred wouldn't be able to understand him should he give him a verbal answer. As the older boy began stirring, Harry sighed and began reciting the horrible bit of verse. "_Hogwartsss, Hogwartsss, Hoggy Warty Hogwartsss,_" he started getting a nod from Fred before he began pouring the contents of the vial into the potion between them. "_Teach usss sssomething pleassse. Whether we be old and bald, or young and ssscabby kneesss. Our headsss could do with filling_."

Even in his head, he could see the snake hissing in laughter at the ridiculous song, especially since no one had ever considered to actually set the damn thing to music, instead letting everyone sing it in their own manner. "_With sssome interesssting ssstuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead fliesss, and bitsss of fluff._"

Well that was a lovely visual to have flit through his head, fortunately he had already finished dumping in the potion, and hopefully wouldn't lose its effect should his focus on the snake falter. "_Ssso teach usss thingsss worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot. Jussst do your bessst, we'll do the ressst, and learn until our brainsss all rot._"

Oh yeah, his brains certainly were rotting from the stupid song. But at least Fred was signalling for him to stop, so he released the mental image of the snake still hissing with laughter at the stupid song. "Can you understand me?"

Never before had a nod made him feel so relieved. The simple act of seeing Fred's head dip in understanding nearly made him let a laugh escape, instead he watched as the blue color of what he had poured in spread throughout the mix, turning it a light icy color before fading into the clear potion once again. Just as Fred and Harry lifted the small cauldron off the fire and onto a cooling stand, the others arrived carrying a fairly large box with 'Chocoballs' emblazoned across the top.

"It was one of the few without utterly disgusting names," Hermione explained even as Su shuddered in agreement. George just seemed to shrug at the suggestion that the names were revolting in any type of way. To be honest they did look rather good, simple balls of what seemed to be milk chocolate with some type of icing over the top.

Within moments of their arrival, the box was opened and Fred was liberally painting on the gel-like potion over the candies, while George was talking to a quill that wrote by itself. Harry had never seen a bird with that hue of plumage, but if he ever saw one with such a vibrant pink color, he would probably end up trying to scrub the image out after it was burned permanently to his retinas.

The younger three watched their seniors working away, having already done what they could to help. After a minute, George walked over with the note in hand to show the trio.

"_Dearest and Most Lovely Ladies of Ravenclaw,_

_Your feminine wiles and charm are second only to the way you treat others, and so we have given you chocolates as sweet and delightful as you are yourself. However, like you, they hold a secret side that is only revealed in private. Enjoy a week of not understanding a thing, girls._

_Sincerely,_

_The Ravenclaw Rebels_"

"It's perfect, George," Harry admitted as he finished reading the note to the girls. The two of them looked it over with sad smiles on their faces. Knowing that they were torn about pranking someone from their own house, Harry could empathize, but the course of action was laid out and they couldn't back out now. "Best of all, since it's legible no-one can possibly link it to you."

As the others chuckled, George put on a playfully hurt look while looking over the letter. "How could you not know it was me, Harry? I always write perfectly!"

"Ah brother of mine, let's not lie to our dear firsties," Fred cut in while plucking the message from his twin's hand. "We all know that the true penmanship master is myself, of course."

When George let out a hearty laugh at that, the others joined in, lightening the mood of everyone immensely. A swish and flick of his wand later, the layers of chocolate balls were hovering over the box, allowing Fred to lay the note down nice and neatly at the bottom of the container. The confection was then lowered back in the same way they had been removed, and the entire outer wrapping was replaced as perfectly as if it had never been opened. "The trap is primed... but we need a way to get it to them without them noticing..."

"I... I have a way... but I need to learn a spell..." Harry admitted quietly as he looked around. "It's a simple spell, I've seen it used on others in the halls, but I won't be able to tell you when I can perform it until I see the opening."

"We'll see what we can do, and what spell are you thinking about, Harry?" Fred answered with a shrug, having had triggers like this before, he knew how to set up quick spells.

"I was thinking of this tripping jinx that I saw in the hallway, I was going to ask about it another time, but this seems like the perfect opportunity. Besides, this way we can make it seem like a bashful admirer until they get to the bottom note," Harry explained, getting devilish smiles from the twins.

In an office, high above most of the other levels of the school, an old man suddenly got a flash of inspiration to take a nice long vacation somewhere on the far side of the planet. Fortunately for the life of his future ulcer, he ignored that thought out of habit as much as knowing that he couldn't leave the castle, not with the defenses of the stone being so incomplete.

In a rather pleasant, if a bit small, room in an undisclosed location, Petunia sat on her bed looking at an old photo album which held the only good memories of her sister she had left. If she had looked at this more often while raising Harry, she might have just noticed the little details that were becoming so obvious now about their obvious connection. While the boy had James' looks and ruddy eyesight, he had those same vibrant green eyes of his mother, and if she thought about it her smile.

All those years wasted when the sister that she wanted returned to her was lingering as a ghost in the child she had borne into this world. Oh how she would love to have had just a chance to take back all that she had done to the boy growing up. Just a single blessed chance to look into those sparkling emerald eyes of his and beg for forgiveness. Not that she would deserve it, not after all she had failed to provide him with.

The goblins would see the truth of the matter, see her jealousy and folly since childhood when her sister's powers became evident. Setting down the book filled with memories that would torment her eternally, she leaned heavily against the headboard of her bed and wondered if Harry was alright. She had found out that Dudley was back at Smeltings and would be staying with one of Vernon's relatives if she wasn't released by the holidays. And while this news lightened her heart, she found the news that Vernon had insulted the king of the goblins to cause her heart to settle somewhere about her knees.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, she sighed and looked down at the smiling face of her baby sister staring back at her. Though it was a cheerful picture, she couldn't help but feel the shame and disappointment rolling towards her like a tidal wave of bleakness. If there was any force out there that was listening to her thoughts right now, please let them grant her one more chance to redeem herself. To make things right with her sister in the only way she could imagine possible, be the maternal figure the bo- no, Harry had longed for since he first came to live with her on Privet Drive. When her trial came, she would plead her case with her head up, though every fibre of her being would cringe in shame. She would not ask for leniency, nor would she beg forgiveness from them. There was only one person that could grant her that second part, only one person she could possibly hope to ask it from. However, she knew that she wouldn't.

She had ignored the problem too long to be granted such kindness from him anyhow.

Closing her eyes she settled in for another nap, having little else to do in this windowless room. Though the rest would only bring about a short respite from the guilt she was berating herself with, it was enough to allow her some margin of peace.

Three days of waiting was starting to fray the nerves of the Rebels, knowing that the opening would come, but having to be on watch for it was aggravating to say the least. A couple of targets presented themselves, but they wouldn't be enough to give them the chance to slip the girls the candies unnoticed.

However, during lunch on that third day a particularly beautiful chance occurred that caused a perfect distraction. Draco Malfoy was attempting to verbally bully Ron while the other was busy stuffing his face with everything on his plate, and more than once the plate of his neighbors. Just as the blond poofter was turning away to mince his way towards the Slytherin table, Harry slipped out his wand and cast the tripping jinx under the table.

In the split second it took for the magic to reach the Slytherin and send him sprawling, two things happened that would alter the very nature of the distraction, and what the rumor mill talked about for ages to come. The first part was that Ron had finally turned away from his food, possibly to taunt him in return, or maybe to ask some question.

Directly in relation to the first was that Draco turned to continue belittling his favorite target since Harry was always flanked by the twins and two girls. Rumors were that not only was the British mudblood the top of the year after only two weeks, but that other one from the Orient was supposed to be the child of some sort of master of a long-forgotten art of the hidden throat ripper or something like that. Which never really sat with the young Malfoy as being right if the other students constantly belittled her, however he wasn't about to risk the future of the Malfoy line without validation that the rumors were just smoke.

However, none of that mattered at this moment as the blond found himself with his ankles clicking together and momentum carrying him around and forward towards the youngest son of the Weasley family.

Now it is said that three things happened that day. The first was Ron and Draco's lips met in a rather forceful manner, making their first kiss rather painful for both parties. Second, a lot of girls squealed in delight at the sight of two cute, young boys kissing in front of the entire school. Third, it was decided amongst the Rebels that Harry provides superior distractions as they could have attached fireworks and a howler to the package and no one would have seen them do it.

As the two parted, their eyes met and in that brief instance millions of things raced through their young, supple minds. That is until Draco sprang away with a heavy blush, screamed something about his father and ran from the room to hunt down disinfectant mouthwash. Ron, for his part, sat at the table, stunned into silence as he stared after the boy that had taken his first kiss. What had that been about? Did Draco fancy him? Why did he feel like going to find another bathroom and purging his last few meals?

Did Draco really want him to meet his father after only one kiss?

Elsewhere, a pair of twinkling eyes watched the romantic development of two of his charges with a happy little sigh. It was so delightful to see young love blooming, and as their educator, it was up to him to ensure that they were able to continue to express their love. As the redhead left the Great Hall to check on his flaxen-haired lover, Dumbledore stood in front of them all and cleared his throat. "I do hope that the display here has not offended anyone gathered under these halls of learning. Not only are you to explore the depths of your mind, but also the various paths your heart might taken as it grows and matures. I ask that you all support their new found friendship as openly as I do."

As he settled into his heaping pot of shepherd's pie, he couldn't help but reflect on the wonderful symmetry of the relationship. The scion of the Malfoy family, a known supporter of dark arts, was reaching out for the warmth of his light-sided rival and lover from the Weasley family. Oh the wonderful romance of it all, now he just had to encourage them to continue exploring their feelings, and to assure them of his full and unconditional support in their relationship.

Why it almost made him want to owl ol' Grindelwald and see if he wanted to play a rousing game of helpless hero and seductive villainous mastermind. But he had to wait for his private pleasures for the Greater Good of all the Wizarding World.

Leaving Dumbledore to his 'extracurricular' plans, Harry and the other Rebels settled in to watch as their housemates and targets du jour took notice of the box of chocolates sitting on the table between them. One look at the tag singed 'A Secret Admirer' was all they needed before they opened up the box and began eating the chocolates inside. Even though it didn't matter if they watched openly or not, the five members of the Rebels made sure to act as naturally as possible.

The twins joked between themselves about needing to plan out a wedding for ickle-Ronnikins and Draco, while Harry and Hermione discussed that morning's Transfiguration assignment, while Su continued trying to read English. However each one of them were watching when the Cho pulled out the message and began reading it with a growing sense of horror spreading over her face.

Out of her trembling fingers the note fell to the table, where it vanished into a plume of smoke. Coiling about Cho's neck like a serpent before slipping off into the air with a hiss. It was at this moment that one of Cho's friends blinked owlishly at the students around her. "Why are they all hissing?"

"What?" one of the other cronies asked, confusion on her face. "Why are you hissing while moving your mouth like that?"

After a couple minutes of the girls trying to figure out why they only heard hissing, Cho finally broke down in tears as she shouted. "WE'VE BEEN CURSED!" This seemed to have gotten the attention of the staff as they all rushed over in an instant.

For the next ten minute the staff attempted to get the girls to calm down and explain what happened, the constant yelling about hissing was just about to get boring when one of the teachers got the brilliant idea to try and write down the questions. This seemed to work for all of a few seconds before the girls being helped asked, "Why are you showing us squiggles?"

As the rest of the school was laughing, the guilty parties felt secure in the opportunity to join in the laughter. After all, it wouldn't do for their great prank to go enjoyed by all but themselves. Before long, the girls were herded towards the infirmary, where presumably they were going to be probed and prodded until Madam Pomfrey could determine what was wrong with the students. Cho knew, and hopefully the head will tell the rest of the body once their week was over.

Otherwise it might be time to prune the feathers of the mighty ravens.


	19. Quidditch Trials

Now, if the Rebels were to be asked, they did feel slightly guilty about the timing of their great revenge stroke upon the girls. Only slightly, since they felt the girls deserved it, but even still the timing could have been better for their consciences. Walking out onto the field the next day they frowned upon seeing Cho standing there stoically, even though one could see just how frazzled she was over the recent curse that had befallen her.

********

The trio of first years looked around cautiously, as though not even sure if they ought to be there in the first place, until they saw a group of other first year hopefuls getting some pointers from the current captain. Fred and George left them to join the others that had been on the team last year.

********

That left the first years in an awkward position, to one side was the girl that had bullied Su so horribly, on the other was a collection of students they barely knew. If knowing that they hurt Cho's chance at being on the team caused them any grief, the fact that she purposely distanced herself from the others made it worse. A quick huddle was called.

********

"I..." Harry started once they were a good distance from those students that could understand them, his eyes scanning towards the school for the teacher. He cut himself off as a flash of gold caught his attention. "I don't feel right with her being cursed and trying out..."

********

"Nor do I Harry, it is not honorable," Su agreed, her eyes locked solidly on the girl that had headed up the group bullying her. True it wasn't like Cho had been a very honorable opponent to begin with, but there was something to be said about not stooping down to the level of one's enemies when they acted in ways unbecoming a warrior. That certainly sounded like what her parents insisted that she learn in the dojo. "I would not feel right accepting any position she might have gone for because of her being unable to understand."

********

Hermione seemed ready to argue against them, that was until she paused for a moment to think about the matter a bit more. With a heavy sigh she nodded her agreement before laying down the law. "We only attempt to get her to relax, or at least performing up to somewhat normal and reasonable standards. Agreed?"

********

The nod from her two friends was more than she had ever hoped to get out of them. Instead of pushing her luck in trying to get more, she decided to take the initiative and help them communicate with the cursed girl.

********

Walking in front of her, they began attempting to communicate without talking to her. Eventually they managed to break through with gestures and hastily drawn pictures in the dirt surrounding the pitch. Cho even managed to laugh once at a joke that had more to do with Harry's lack of drawing skills than any word play. It was shortly after this, that something caught Harry's eye again. Lashing out with his right hand he caught a strange golden ball with dragon fly wings off either side just as it attempted to zip past again.

********

"A Snitch?" Cho shouted in shock, to which Harry gave her a confused look, and before she could explain another voice cut through the air.

********

"Very good, Mr. Potter!" Flitwick's voice cut through, while he held up a strange white board that showed off a thumbs up and a picture of Harry on it. "That was one of the first tests for Seekers, a test of their instincts." As he spoke, the picture morphed into an image of a cat pouncing the ball with a green check-mark, while the image of the same cat ignoring it had a red crossed circle next to it.

********

"Oh..." Harry offered with a slight blush as a few others stared at him hotly for his swift reaction. To his surprise however, there was one set of hands starting off a ripple of congratulatory applause that slowly built after a time. Turning around, he looked at the girl leading the ovation.

********

"You got lucky," Cho stated firmly as he met her eyes, despite the clapping and smiling he could see the challenge in the ocular orbs. "I'll show you I'm better, even if I can't understand a thing you're saying."

********

Harry's smirk and playful salute conveyed the message clearer than his would could possibly have. 'Challenge accepted' had been such a useful phrase throughout the ages that it became nearly second nature to for people, magical or not, to understand. It also made three other Seeker hopefuls reconsider the very nature of the competition. With the Boy-Who-Lived, and the Ice Princess of Ravenclaw setting up to vie for the two slots, as well as last year's Seeker, it would be tough to even get an honorable mention.

********

Hermione was looking over the competition she would be facing for the role that the twins told her she'd be a natural at, and had to admit that they seemed like they wouldn't be giving her much of a challenge. Especially since everyone else save the first years were already carrying brooms. Of those without a broom, Harry and Su were the only ones she confirmed as being non-competitors. Harry for he was going to try for a flying position, and Su because she wanted to focus on her grades instead.

********

There was something unsettling about how the others that she saw were focusing on those with brooms with more jealousy in their eyes than interest. In fact, if she had to guess, she would have placed herself as the only one actively trying out for the role of manager. She sighed in a mixture of resignation and some other feeling she couldn't name at seeing all the students forming little groups

********

It always happened, no matter where people gathered, like would attract like. The cliques were forming, even before the team was formed, and right now she wanted nothing more than to order them all to stop. However, that impulse was quelled when Professor Flitwick arrived with a wide beaming smile. "Welcome students," he stated as an image of him waving appeared on a flat plane of stone levitating behind his head.

********

"As the paper showed, this year we are attempting something new in that there will be two full teams," Flitwick continued explaining while the stone showed a paper waving for all to view, before showing a team of blue people and another set of silhouettes in silver. "Now, would you mind forming lines for the various roles you wish to try out for?"

********

After he finished asking, more slabs of stone appeared. the first bore an image of a beater's bat, while another had a trio of hoops, the third had a dimpled ball, and the final one had a tiny little ball with wings that one could easily recognize as a snitch. Apparently the wizarding population knew enough about the game to queue into their positions, Leaving only Hermione and Su standing in the center of the field. "Meet our managers," Flitwick stated for Su to run towards the audience stands. "Err.. manager, Hermione Granger."

********

"Thank you Professor..." Hermione answered as she was given a book of rules, another of moves, and a clipboard.

********

"You'll get a whistle during the first practice. I have to convince the board that they aren't going to disrupt magic," Flitwick stated softly before turning to address everyone again. "Beaters and Keepers, Madam Hooch has set up a training area over at the northern end. Seekers, wait here and I will show you to the obstacle course. Beaters, over by the south end there is a testing course there, Professor Sinistra has agreed to keep track of the score for me."

********

As the others left, and Hermione settled in to read her book, the people trying out for the Seeker position looked at each other curiously. There was a total of four people. Harry, Cho, a pretty boy with a highly stylized coif, and another girl that was adjusting her skirt while looking at her makeup in a mirror-like surface on a flower pot.

********

Getting a school broom from the lockers, Harry sighed as he looked at the older students with their own high-quality brooms. It was going to be a bit of a challenge going against them, but he figured that it would be good to at least gain a grip on where he stood in comparison to others.

********

A few moments later, he could see that he actually was better than the others, save for Cho. The first event had been a foot race in which he and Cho had left the other two in the dust. The air race, had been much the same, though Cho had won that one. It seemed that the two other competitors just didn't have the drive to go all out on these races. Harry knew for certain that his broom was the slowest of the four, as Flitwick had explained to Harry that the school brooms were generally of lower quality than personal brooms.

********

This notion was enforced when the guy rushed over to the nearest reflective surface and began inspecting his hair. It was enough to cause Hermione to palm her face forcefully with a groan of dismay. That the girl pulled out a compact and checked her make-up was rather insulting to his pride, he was doing his best and the two of them couldn't even muster up enough interest to get a little sweaty in a race?

********

Before he could get too angry, Flitwick had them on brooms and racing around the grounds to various markers he would set up on the fly. The race wasn't long, but there was a clear difference in styles between the two sets. Harry and Cho were serious about it, while the other two seemed to expect just to get in by their good looks alone. It was shortly after the gap grew significant that a new element was added, several hoops were placed in the air in front of them, with an image of a person jumping through them while the broom passed underneath.

********

Taking the hint for what it was, Harry sprang off his broom, and barely caught it on the other side, hanging from it like a sloth for a few paces before managing to right himself. It took him a moment longer to regain his bearings, and notice that Cho had started swinging over to help him out. Waving towards her, he managed to make the next marker before jetting towards the ground. Something didn't feel right, and he wanted to check out the broom before attempting more acrobatics.

********

A quick pit stop showed that the binding to the bristles had started wearing loose, pulling on the string, he smiled as it cinched tight once again before knotting it off again. It wouldn't hold for more than a week, but it should at least get him through the rest of the tests. It seemed his pit stop had called a halt to the tests, as the others were coming to ground a few feet away. Rushing over, he heard professor Flitwick explaining the next test.

********

"You should know, the Seeker position isn't just about being the fastest, it's about being the smartest. Not only do you have to lead the team in speed drills, but you have to think as much, if not more than the team captain. There will several times where the seekers are pulled aside to learn broom tricks for advantages in the air, but there are some things that cannot be taught..." Flitwick explained while a large box of what appeared to be yellow tennis balls settled onto the grass next to him. "One of those things is reflexes... one by one you will each go into the little corridor between these two halls. I will banish these balls at you, do try to avoid them."

********

At the groan of dismay from the others, which thankfully masked Harry's own panic attack, Flitwick shook his head. "Don't worry, they're charmed to disperse into a color pattern, they won't hurt you. And then after your turn is over, I'll use the counter charm to return them to the bin."

********

Anything more that Flitwick would have said was blocked from Harry as Hermione appeared in front of him, locking her eyes with his. There was nothing said, but still he couldn't help but feel an entire conversation was being exchanged in the momentary union of their visions. Finally he broke it, his breathing back to more normal patterns. "Dudley..."

********

"Is not here, and Professor Flitwick isn't him," Hermione explained while the ponce with a fixation on his hair strode into the corridor with all the dignity of a coward being poked and prodded into their own death. Five seconds later the slaughter was underway. At first it had started simply with one or two balls flying down the opening at a fairly slow speed, but then they began picking up speed and numbers. The Seeker hopeful did seem to have great reflexes, however his instinct seemed to be completely backwards for the event. From his vantage point behind Professor Flitwick, Harry watched with interest as he found his mind pointing out how to dodge the incoming projectiles, just to watch as the boy moved directly into the path.

********

Eventually the boy looked less like a human being, and more like a moving canvas of paint. Mercifully the box was not endless, and did in fact stop supplying the diminutive professor ammunition. "Well Mr. Templeton, come and let me cast the counter charm..." Flitwick offered weakly while Harry decided to not look at him. It was the least he could do to help preserve the boy's dignity for a little longer.

********

By the time he turned back around, the other girl had taken up the target's place, a confident smile on her face. Harry decided to find something else to focus upon, and took to looking at the other groups in earnest. It wasn't until the unearthly shrieking filled the area that he looked back. A single splotch of marking paint had spread over the girl's uniform, and she was going absolutely insane over it. Instead of continuing the test, she charged forward and demanded for the counter charm to be cast immediately and that she was quitting being a Seeker.

********

Shortly after she left, Flitwick turned to look at his remaining two hopefuls. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Chang," he started as a sign showed off pictures of the two, "As it is just the three of us, and the manager Ms. Granger, I feel it is safe to admit this... The two of you are far ahead in the running currently, enough so that you do not have to take this test."

********

Harry could feel the professor's eyes lock on his, knowing that he knew of Harry's problems in the past. But there was something more, something that the head of the house was holding back. "I should also admit that I had never actually attended a practice of Quidditch, and instead this is taken from my training as a Duellist."

********

"Professor, are you saying that other teams don't do this?" Cho asked, having been able to follow along thanks to the continuous pictures on display before the professor. Harry wondered just what was going on.

********

"Correct Ms. Chang. In fact, I believe it is fair to say that this test is unique to any team I train... but as you can see, it applies very well to Seekers," Flitwick answered with a smirk as he pulled out a picture of past games, only these photographs moved, showing a person on a broom reaching for a small sphere while weaving through Quaffles flying past them.

********

"Why are they moving?" Hermione asked, getting a nod from Harry as well.

********

"Oh, sorry Ms. Granger, I forget that you and Mr. Potter would not have learned of these matters... these are wizarding pictures, similar to Muggle video I am told," Flitwick explained, getting a very confused look from Cho. "Err... it is hard to explain, Ms. Chang."

********

"It can wait," the girl answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Why are you telling us this?"

********

"To give you both the chance to back out... Ms. Chang, with your current condition I fear that you will be distracted, and Mr. Potter has shown his reflexes in the past," Flitwick explained ending with an image of Harry snatching Trevor out of thin air. "I would like to better know your limits, but if you wish to bypass this test, we can."

********

"No," Harry answered with a surprising firmness to his voice. His own shock apparent on his face, he stepped forward. "No Professor, I... I'll stand the trial. That way no one can say I didn't earn the place."

********

Hermione reached out to put a hand on his arm, whispering "Harry," softly before stopping herself. Her eyes looked into his from the side, and found something inside them that she hadn't expected, even after the shared moment earlier. Smiling faintly she stepped back and nodded to herself.

********

Cho also took a step forward, not answering him with words, but instead striding towards the corridor, and standing at the ready. "Harry, it is time to show you just why I'm going to be the better Seeker!" she declared, levelling a pointed finger directly at the boy in clear challenge. At first Harry showed nothing but shock, but slowly a sly grin appeared on his face and he nodded in reply. They might have been the best two of the four that started, but there could only be one on top.

********

There was no preliminary build-up, nor any warning, instead Flitwick just sent forth the bright yellow balls at speed, which Cho danced clear of gracefully. The dance of her dodging each ball was a thing of beauty, showing off her natural flexibility and speed. Never did her eyes break their focus on Flitwick, showing just how intently she wanted to not only win this, but beat their instructor.

********

The first hit came as a surprise to Harry, Cho dodged past one ball, only to be caught by a second that had been hanging behind it. From his position, there was no reason she shouldn't have seen it, but he held his tongue and tried to imagine it from her position. It would have been blocked by the first, simply due to the angle of attack.

********

In total, Cho was hit seven times out of all the balls flung her way. Each one she wore as a mark of honor, rather than a failure. The two locked eyes once again as Harry walked to take his position. The challenge in her eyes remained, clearly telling him to do better. His confident return would have surprised him had he seen it, but instead he only hoped that he wasn't showing just how scared he was.

********

Taking up his position, he watched as Flitwick quirked an eyebrow at him, as though asking one last time to let Harry back out of the challenge. Closing his eyes, Harry took a deep breath to steady his nerves before snapping them open and signalling Flitwick to bring out his best.

********

His dodging wasn't nearly as fluid, nor smooth as Cho's but it seemed to be just as effective as he sidestepped around the balls, sometimes close enough that he could feel the wind of their passing. If Cho had been a dancer, Harry would have been a stop motion film. He wouldn't flow into the next position, instead jerking and halting suddenly.

********

It seemed to have the desired effect, as Flitwick would seem to have predicted another direction for Harry to have chosen more than once sending a ball further from him than he had with the others. It was the sudden shift to three balls at once that Harry failed to dodge one. If it hadn't been for the drift of color past him, and the soft puff of sound of impact from his right arm, he probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he continued his herk and jerk method of dodging, taking only six more blows out of the set. Unfortunately, his luck seemed to have ran out as he found out that the balls weren't nearly as far away as he had thought them to be.

********

The slip and fall took them all by surprise, except the Professor. He had been watching, and knew what was going to happen. Which is why when Harry was on his way down, he already had five balls flying at him, to impact upon his crash landing. He did not predict what Harry would do next.

********

Some instinct of his caused Harry to twist in the air, getting one hand underneath him, and causing his fall to take a spin which rolled him over the incoming projectiles. Hitting the ground behind them, he continued the roll and got to his knees as fast as he could, hoping to beat the master duellist in recovering from the surprise. It seemed to work, as he didn't see any more balls flying at him, but rather Flitwick watching him with a bemused expression. "Very impressive, Mr. Potter... you set off eight balls, though I'm not sure I should count that last one..."

********

"Last one?" Harry asked, searching his body and counting paint marks. He could only account for seven that he knew had hit him. That was until Flitwick walked over and tapped his left foot, which had rolled out from under him. Lifting it up, he found a bright pink mark on the bottom of his trainers.

********

After staring blankly at it for a moment he let out a chuckle, that slowly built into a hearty laugh. It was so absurd, so weird, and so... so funny to him that he couldn't put it into words. All that dodging, all the close calls, and he was fallen by a bit of debris. "Count it, show me I have to be more observant."

********

"Very well, Mr. Potter," Flitwick added with a smile on his face as well, "As you both know, coming into this test you two were my preferred choices for Seekers. That has not changed, however I would like to express my impression that both of you would make wonderful duellists, should you ever consider that direction."

********

"Now, about the positions... the two of you will be on the teams, but I need time to decide who is to be the primary, and who will be the backup," Flitwick continued with a studious frown on his face. "I would ask that if either of you would prefer to be the backup, please let me know."

********

Harry wondered why Professor Flitwick was still watching him, until he heard the counter charm being cast. Writing it off as the professor working up the magic to cast the spell, Harry turned towards where Hermione was waiting with a frown on her face. It didn't take him much to know what had her so upset. "Hermione, I'm fine..."

********

"You could have broken your arm with that last stunt!" Hermione shouted before crossing her arms over her chest, giving him a look that could have done the Deputy Headmistress proud.

********

"It was an acci-" Harry started sheepishly before Hermione gave him a soft smile and tilted her head to the side.

********

"But it was still kinda amazing Harry... you should work on improving that," Hermione added with a softer tone, before rushing over and hugging him. "Just be more careful, and watch where you're stepping, keep your elbow bent next time so you don't risk fracturing something. We'll have to get somewhere with padding so you can practice I suppose..."

********

As the younger girl dragged her friend away, ranting about practical applications, Cho turned to her professor with a lost and confused expression. What she found was a face mirroring her own confusion. Shaking her head, she smiled faintly and watched as Hermione continued rambling, all the while Harry seemed ready to indulge her completely.

********

This seems to be shaping up to be an interesting year.


End file.
